Ozymandias
by Feilyn
Summary: Empires built in centuries are torn down in instants. That which is built by man can be just as easily destroyed. Nothing ever stays the same and this is a lesson learnt by both Naruto and Bleach characters as they struggle with war, friendship and death.
1. Prologue

_Whoa. I can't believe, after all the time __**bellzooks**__ and I have spent working on this, we're finally here with the first chapter. _

_I don't know where to start when I say this thing is going to be huge. Both Bella and I understand that there is an intense hatred out there for crossovers, especially with Bleach and Naruto, but we're here to prove that with enough forethought (and basic grammar skills) it can be done. While collabs are also hard to prove, there is no way I could have done this story without Bella (especially seeing as it was her idea in the first place), and she informs me that I've been pretty handy to have around as well._

_So far, we've planned until past the war in the Bleach world, and done chapter outlines for the first 20 or so chapters. We still have no idea how long it's going to be, but judging by the length of the prologue, it will be epic._

_Rest assured, we both love Naruto and Bleach and will follow canon and themes as closely as possible while still delivering a fresh outlook on these two worlds. I'm sorry, I'm trying to think of how to put this without sounding like a pompous git._

_So, uh, **spoilers. **And also, a huge shout out must be given to **Philyra **and her beta **poptate **who are designing all the zanpakutou for the Naruto characters. We couldn't have done this without you, guys._

_Anyway, I hope you'll give us a chance. I'll leave you with the poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley from which we took our title before we move on to the Prologue of __**Ozymandias**__!_

I met a traveller from an antique land  
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone  
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,  
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown  
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command  
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read  
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,  
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.  
And on the pedestal these words appear:  
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:  
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"  
Nothing beside remains: round the decay  
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,  
The lone and level sands stretch far away

xXx

Namikaze Minato, Captain-Commander of the Fourteen Protection Divisions, was slumped in a chair at his lover's side when his third seat burst into the room.

"Jeez, where's the fire at, Kakashi?" Kushina laughed, shifting around to settle the baby boy in her arms. Kakashi wasn't one for bursting in anywhere.

"The Kyuubi. The Vasto Lord Hollow." The boy's one visible eye was blank, focussed unseeingly slightly above Minato's head. The other eye was concealed with a thick strip of black cloth, bisected by a long scar. "We've just received word that it is attacking the physical world."

From his mother's arms, three hour old Naruto started to wail. Kushina herself frowned, shaking her head slightly. "I thought the Kyuubi was in Hueco Mundo. Y'know, eating other Hollows."

"Obviously," Kakashi grated out. "He decided to move." He turned to his Captain. "Namikaze-sotaichou, what are your orders?"

"I told you not to call me that," Minato muttered, staring distractedly at his newborn son. "I - the Kyuubi. It's attacking." The words finally permeated his awestruck brain and he sat bolt-upright in the chair.

Kushina tucked a strand of wine-dark hair behind her ear. "It can't be attacking. I just gave birth. That's not _fair._"

Kakashi stared at her incredulously. "Oh. Well then. That's solves our problem. I'll go down to Tokyo now and tell the Kyuubi that my fukutaichou just gave birth, it can't _possibly--_"

"Kakashi." Minato stood, cutting the boy off before he got any nastier. For some reason, Kakashi had never taken to Kushina. "Call an emergency meeting. Taichou and fukutaichou. Ensure _everyone_ is there - yes, even Shunsui. Kushina--" He bent down and dropped a kiss on her forehead. "Stay here."

"Are you kidding me?" Naruto started to whimper a bit in the red-head's arms as she struggled to sit up properly. "There's no way I'm staying here when something like this is going on! You just called a taichou and _fukutaichou_ meeting, which in case you hadn't noticed, includes _me_."

"Kushina. You just gave birth. I'm hardly going to let you--"

Green eyes narrowed dangerously, and Minato swallowed, suddenly forgetting that he had a world to save. "Let? _Let?_"

"Uh…wrong word choice perhaps."

"Damn straight it was the wrong word choice." She started to kick off the blankets. "Where did you say the Kyuubi was attacking, Kakashi? Take me there, I'll sort it out no problem."

Kakashi regarded her with an odd glint in his eye. "You can't go."

"I'm sorry?"

Minato shifted nervously. Between Kyuubi and an angry Kushina, he wasn't entirely sure who he'd rather face.

Kakashi's face - what he could see of it - was impassive. "You're still on mandatory maternity leave." Children in the Seireitei were far too precious to risk being lost in battle. "As third seat, _I _stand in your place. That order has still not been revoked." Without waiting for her no doubt outraged response, he turned and bowed to Minato. "I'll call the meeting immediately, Namikaze-sotaichou."

"Mi-na-to…" Kushina growled as Kakashi left the room.

"He's right, Kushina. I'm not lifting that order, which means that you have no reason to be at the meeting. I promise, I'll let you know everything that happens." A pause. "As it happens. You stay here and look after our son."

"Oh, I see how it is. You want me to be the pathetic army wife who stays behind. Like those human women in the--"

Minato pinched the bridge of his nose, trying not to think about a monster Hollow on the rampage. "Kushina. I promise that next time a Vasto Lord Hollow attacks the living world, you'll be on the frontlines. Right now, we have a three hour old son who needs one of his parents to be looking after him. And you know it can't be me."

By reflex, Kushina glanced down at Naruto, who had settled down again. "As it happens?"

"I promise." He stooped and kissed her again, this time a soft brushing of the lips.

She grabbed the front of his shihakushou and pulled him down for something a little more serious. "Kick some Hollow ass," she ordered, shoving him away.

Minato blinked, dazed. "Uh…sure." He stumbled a little as he headed for the door.

"Minato!"

"Eh?"

"Your swishy coat. You forgot it." Kushina was shaking her head at him. "You can't kick ass without your swishy coat."

He stared at her for a moment before realising he'd left his haori draped over the chair he'd been sitting on.

Minato sighed as he slipped the cloth over his shoulders, feeling the familiar weight of responsibility settle over him once again.

_Right. Time to kick some hollow ass._

xXx

If Minato had hoped for an awed silence to sweep over the meeting room upon his entrance, he was sorely mistaken. Twenty six sets of eyes followed him as he moved towards the front of the room where Kakashi was tensely standing, staring at some point on the back wall. The boy only glanced back when his Captain placed a hand on his shoulder. The silver-haired shinigami took a step back, allowing the older man to step up to the platform. Finally, the gathering ceased speaking.

"You're probably wondering why I called you here--"

"Hardly." Minato sighed inwardly. _Shinji._ "It's the Kyuubi isn't it?" The same bored expression that always found itself on Shinji's face was barely effected by the magnitude of what he was saying. "It's decided to leave Hueco Mun--" A smacking sound cut him short. "Ahh!"

"I'm _so _sorry. I must have slipped. Please continue, Namikaze-sotaichou." Yoruichi nodded apologetically to Minato and smirked tauntingly at Shinji, who merely sighed and turned his attention to the front. A shadow of a smile curled the lips of Yoruichi's fukutaichou, Uchiha Itachi. It was gone almost before it appeared though, and the child prodigy's dark eyes bore into Minato's.

_Right. _

"Shinji is correct. The Kyuubi has left Hueco Mundo and is attacking the human world." Finally snapping into what Kushina had taken to calling _Epic Serious Minato_, he gazed across the room. "We must move quickly. I need each of you to form a squad from your Divisions to take to the human world." A breath. "Gather these squads immediately. In the meantime, I will try to find a more permanent solution than mere diversionary tactics, and we will determine how to proceed from there. Are there any questions?" Silence stretched for a few long moments. "Good. Meeting adjourned." He descended the platform towards his temporary fukutaichou as the roar of chatter rose again.

"Kakashi." His voice was hushed. "I need to talk to you separately." The younger shinigami's one visible eye examined Minato carefully before he nodded.

"I'll wait outside, Namikaze-sotaichou." Kakashi was at the doorway before Minato could protest the name. As he sighed and moved towards the door, a hand rested casually on his arm.

"Don't do anything stupid, Minato." Shinji's mouth stretched downwards in a slight frown.

The two men stared at each other a moment, before the subordinate averted his gaze.

"Form your team, Shinji."

_What sort of move are you expecting me to pull?_

Epic Serious Minato swept into the hallway, his mind already rapidly considering different options. He reached Kakashi's side and the young man fell into step beside him.

"I have a special assignment for you, Kakashi."

xXx

"This is unbelievable," Kensei growled as he stormed down the hallway. "If that idiot Hatake had just done his job--" He threw his words over his shoulder to Ukitake, "-- then we wouldn't have to deal with this crap."

"You are being unfair, Kensei-taichou," the other captain responded calmly as they turned the corner. "Sakumo was in a difficult position...Ah." Upon turning the corner, the two Captains stopped abruptly. "Namikaze-sotaichou, Hatake-fukutaicho." Ukitake nodded to them politely, his brow furrowed slightly with frustration at Kensei, who at least had the decency to look slightly guilty when he saw Kakashi pointedly inspecting the wall.

"Ukitake, Kensei." Minato spoke evenly, his hand finding its familiar resting place on Kakashi's shoulder. "Did you want something?"

"Just to let you know we have our teams ready, sir." Kensei's gaze dropped a little under Minato's scrutiny.

"Good. If you could gather your teams and brief them, I would appreciate it. Teams Eleven and Fourteen are already in the field."

The two men exited with the dismissal, one shaking his head and the other looking guiltily over his shoulder.

When they were no longer in earshot, Minato turned back to Kakashi. "Well, what do you think?"

Kakashi tore his eyes away from the wall. "You want me to stay with Uzumaki-fukutaichou and Naruto while you prepare to fight the Kyuubi?" His tone was strangely empty sounding.

Minato felt a twinge of concern. "Please, Kakashi. Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid?"

"Like anything you would do, Namikaze-sotaichou?"

"...Exactly."

Kakashi glanced up at the ceiling with what would have looked like a long-suffering sigh on anyone else.

"All right."

xXx

Kakashi took a deep breath before he even attempted opening the door to Minato's quarters. As the door opened, Kushina looked at him expectantly.

"Namikaze-sotaichou asked me to update you. Squads from each Division are being sent into the field, and he is currently constructing a plan to destroy the Kyuubi. Also--" His voice was completely flat. "--I have been assigned to keeping you company and helping you change the baby."

"So Minato isn't on the field yet?" Her baby's head was resting on her shoulder as she spoke to Kakashi. His eyes avoided hers at all costs.

"That is correct."

"Good."

An uncomfortable silence settled between the two of them, with Naruto blissfully sleeping on, completely unaware of the awkward atmosphere. Finally, Kushina rolled her eyes at herself. "Would you like some sake, Kakashi?"

"No. Thank you."

"... Juice?"

"I'm fine."

Kushina sighed. The younger shinigami moved towards the bookcase, looking for something he could stare at that would keep his gaze from wandering over to her. His fingers lightly trailed the spines of the books, idly running his eyes over the titles. On the second shelf, just at his eye level, a bright red cover caught his attention. Kakashi turned his head slowly, careful not to bring Kushina into his line of vision. "Uzumaki-fukutaichou, may I read a book?"

"Kushina, _please,_ Kakashi." She shrugged. "Go for it."

The silver haired shinigami pulled the book carefully off the shelf and became aware of Kushina's quiet approach.

"Oh!" She grinned. "That's by one of Minato's old sensei, Jiraiya. Old pervert," she muttered fondly. Despite himself, Kakashi's eyes flicked to her face as she spoke. "Actually, we named Naruto after the main character."

Kakashi's eyes softened a little before he willed himself to resume examining the book.

xXx

Almost buried in a pile of books and scrolls, Minato mumbled to himself as he searched for a solution to the monster that was currently ravaging the human world. _Think dam__n __it, think. What are you missing?_

A frantic knock on the door interrupted his train of thought. "Come in," he called out loudly, not looking up from the scroll currently open on the table.

"Please, Namikaze-sotaichou!"

The panicked voice forced Minato to look up. The small shinigami before him looked like she was barely keeping herself from shaking.

"What is it, Isane?" The leader attempted a smile to comfort the girl.

"They asked me to update you, they said--" She swallowed, nervously, "-- they said that Teams Eleven and Fourteen were wiped out by the Kyuubi." Suddenly her voice seemed even smaller. "Including the two taichou. There's no one left."

Minato stared at her, feeling like the air had just been punched out of him and was absentmindedly grateful that he was leaning on the table. Finally he found his voice.

"Thank you, Isane. Please tell them to withdraw all forces and stop anyone else going in. I will advise them further as soon as possible."

"Yes, Namikaze-sotaichou!"

The tiny girl nodded and ran back out the door, closing it as she went.

"Damn it. _Dam__n __it!_" In an uncharacteristic show of rage, he swept the table clear of everything on it.

Minato shoved himself away from the table and pulled a key from his pocket. With a sigh, he unlocked an old cabinet in the corner of the room, pulling out a dusty tome. "There's nothing else to be done."

xXx

"Minato."

The blond froze, hand poised to push open the door to his quarters . He sighed, and turned to face his mentor.

Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryuusai, the previous Captain-Commander of the Gotei Fourteen, stood in the middle of the hallway, hands resting lightly on his sealed zanpakutou.

Minato chuckled a little, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Yamamoto-sensei. What are you doing here?"

"Stopping you from doing something stupid, presumably," the old man replied, voice slow and serious. Minato sighed, hand dropping as he recognised that he wasn't going to be able to laugh his way out of this one.

"I going to see my wife," he pointed out. "I know you didn't exactly approve of her, but surely--"

"Minato. I saw the research."

He grit his teeth, Epic Serious Minato creeping over him again. That didn't stop him from feeling frustrated at the hold up. "Sensei, I know what I'm doing." He placed his fingers on the handle again, ready to push the door open.

"Acting without thinking?"

He stiffened. "Two of my taichou were just killed. A tenth of our forces were wiped out in an instant. I would say the time for thinking has passed, wouldn't you?"

"The Gotei needs a strong leader, Minato. If you are killed--"

"If I die, they still have _you!_ I can be replaced, sensei! You've said it yourself - what's one life in the face of hundreds?" Minato took a breath and lowered his voice. "Besides. It may not even come to that. It's entirely possible that my bankai _could _take something that large."

From deep within his soul, a roiling mass of black stirred, simultaneously destroying and regenerating his inner world. _:Muchitsujo…: _Chaos.

_:You are a fool, Minato.:_

He smiled sadly. _:I know, Muchitsujo. I know.:_

"You can't stop me, sensei. I doubt even Central 46 would be willing to risk this getting messier than it has."

"The kidou technique you are intending to use is forbidden. I am sure they would have something to say about that."

"I don't have time to argue with you about this, sensei," Minato said. The cold tone tasted bitter in his mouth. "The balance of the worlds has already been upset. Any longer, and it may be permanently unbalanced. This is the quickest, cleanest solution." He pressed down on the handle.

"And what of your son?"

Minato closed his eyes slowly and opened them again. "He will have Kushina." He opened the door and stepped inside, shutting it quietly behind him.

Kushina, as he had hoped, was asleep. Sitting on a chair next to their bed was Kakashi, idly reading a red-bound book. Nothing particular in the boy's easy slump changed, but Minato knew that Kakashi had gone from relaxed to tense and alert from the moment he'd heard him outside the door.

"Is it over?" Kakashi asked quietly.

Minato crossed the room quickly to the tiny crib where Naruto lay, sleeping. He picked his son up, inwardly marvelling at his tiny fingers and toes.

"Sotaichou?"

"Your orders stand, Kakashi," he said quietly. "Look after Kushina." He turned to his wife and touched her cheek softly. "Good bye."

He tried hard to ignore the way his voice cracked on those words. He turned on his heel and made for the door, hoping Yamamoto wasn't still out there when a slurred voice stopped him.

"Mi - nato?" The name was punctuated by a large yawn. "Where're you going?"

"Just talking Naruto for a walk," he replied softly. "Don't worry about it."

"Oh…" He didn't turn to look at her, but he could imagine Kushina rubbing sleepily at her eyes. "S'it over then?"

Once again, Minato found himself closing his eyes against the pain of what he was about to do. "Yes, Kushina. It's over."

xXx

Kakashi wasn't stupid, and he knew what his Captain was like. Nonetheless, knowing that Minato was going to risk his life in some heroic final gesture and actually doing something about it were two entirely different things.

If he had been charged with anything - _anything_ - other than looking after Uzumaki and her son, he would have been after his Captain in the blink of an eye, orders or no.

_Those who ignore their orders are trash. Those who abandon their friends, though - they are worse than trash._

And here he was, caught between two conflicting loyalties, each as powerful as the other. His love for Minato, which compelled him both to run after the man and to stay and follow orders, and his--

Well.

He didn't think about that. It was best not to. He was screwed up enough as it was.

"You know you can leave now, Kakashi," Kushina said, that hideously gentle note in her voice mocking him relentlessly.

"No. I can't."

She frowned. "In case you hadn't noticed, there's not a baby here to be ch…" She trailed off green eyes widening. "Kakashi, where is Minato."

_Oh, shit._

"Out for a walk," he replied, grasping desperately for a better excuse, hell, any excuse. "He said."

"That was half an hour ago. I doubt he's taking a baby not a day old around for a grand tour of the Seireitei. Kakashi, what's going on?"

He schooled his face into the blank mask he'd been working with most of his life. "Currently, Uzumaki-_san_, you stand at civilian status. I am not required to tell you anything."

The next thing he knew, he was on his back with an angry Kushina pinning him down. Green eyes glowed with protective rage.

"When it involves my _son_, Hatake, you are required to tell me anything and everything. What the hell is going on?"

Kakashi could only think of one thing to do, and it definitely wasn't something he'd ever imagined he'd do before. Nonetheless, he didn't have a choice if he was to keep Kushina safe.

He twisted awkwardly under her, throwing her off of him and drawing Shirokarasu from his back in one movement.

"You would draw your zanpakutou on your own fukutaichou?" Kushina asked softly, eying the grey-wrapped katana in his hands.

Kakashi shifted in front of the door.

"I don't have a choice."

xXx

Ukitake was holding the gate open for Minato when he arrived, looking drained and worried. His mouth fell open a little at the sight of the infant in the Captain-Commander's hand, but by that time Minato had flash-stepped into the senkaimon and started to run through the Dagai - there was no flash-stepping in this halfway world.

His heart pounded with what he didn't want to admit was fear. He shook his head in an attempt to throw it off, touching his free hand lightly to the zanpakutou at his hip for reassurance.

If he was lucky, Muchitsujo would be able to dispose of the Kyuubi with little problem. However, if the Hollow was too large, too powerful…

He'd think about that when it happened. _If_. If it happened.

_:How possible it is that you'll be able to swallow it?:_ he asked the being that curled and uncurled in his inner world.

A pause. _:It's impossible to say, Minato. I'm sorry.:_

_:What are you sorry for?: _He forced a laugh. _:If I go down, I'm taking you with me. Not the other way around.:_

_:There isn't anyone I'd rather go down with, Minato.:_

_:You're a part of my soul. You have to say that.:_

The Hell Butterfly ahead of him fluttered a little before that faint light appeared in the distance. He picked up speed, juggling Naruto in one arm and drawing Muchitsujo with his free hand just as the doors opened and the Dagai spat him out into the physical world.

xXx

Kushina winced, both at the sudden ache in her muscles and at the inert body at her feet. She hadn't _killed_ Kakashi, but she got the feeling the knocking him unconscious wasn't going to be all that much preferable when the boy's pride came into play. Casting her eyes around for something to write on, she found the book he'd been reading and scribbled something the front page before bundling her third seat up and placing him on the bed, the book on his chest. Hopefully, he wouldn't be waking up to tell anyone what had happened for a while.

Kushina had never claimed to be a genius like her husband, or even like the boy she'd just knocked out. She relied on her instincts for the most part, and at that moment her instincts were screaming out that not only was something wrong, but something was down right awful.

She went to sheathe Kyushi, before realising that it was probably a better idea to keep him at hand for the time being. The brown-wrapped tanto was a small comfort in the face of whatever stupidity Minato had gotten himself into now, but it was a comfort nonetheless.

_:Hey! I resent that!: _Kyushi exclaimed, flitting around in their inner world of clouds.

_:Shush, you. We've got more important things to concentrate on right now. Like why Minato's stolen my baby, and why it's so dangerous that he had to order Kakashi not to let me out of the room.:_

_:Tricks?: _Kyushi asked eagerly.

_:No tricks. More brute force and ass-kicking.:_

_:How mundane.:_

_:Oh, shut up.:_

xXx

The sheer _power_ of the Kyuubi's presence was damn near overwhelming, even for Minato. In his arms, Naruto stirred and began to wail as one of the monster-Hollow's tails flicked and demolished a nearby building.

The Kyuubi had gorged itself on the spirits of the shinigami who had fought it, and now it was looking for another meal. Minato thrust down the brief surge of pity for the monster as he gripped Muchitsujo tightly in his hand and, bypassing shikai completely, cut a wide, steady circle in the air.

"Genshi no Dobu Muchitsujo," he said quietly, the air in front of him wavering slightly as his own reiatsu rose up against the Vasto Lord. _Chaotic Primordial Chasm. _"Ban-_kai!_"

The sound of nothing ripping through the air in front of him was louder than one would have expected. Minato grit his teeth as the Kyuubi jerked his head over to Muchitsujo's physical manifestation in the real world, a gaping hole of nothing that sucked reality into it.

Left unattended, Muchitsujo would have been a disaster like nothing seen before. But Minato was the gatekeeper of this void, and it was he who decided what entered it.

Assuming he had the power to both draw the Kyuubi in and stop everything else from disappearing as well. A random hole in reality would not help to keep the worlds balanced.

"You _dare…?_" The Kyuubi roared, levelling some more buildings as Muchtsujo started to draw it in. Thankfully, that area of the city seemed to have been evacuated due to the blatant destruction befalling it.

_:Minato…:_

_:Keep trying, Muchitsujo.:_

_:I didn't know it was _possible_ for a Hollow to get this powerful.:_

_:He just devoured two taichou. Not our best, but when you've just taken out two of them, it hardly matters.:_

The Kyuubi attempted to lash out at Minato himself, but here the other power of his bankai came into play, disorienting the monster whenever it looked at him, making him appear as if he was there and yet not at the same time.

He cut another, wider circle in the air, enlarging Muchitsujo's power. His head pounded as finally, the gravitational pull he was aiming at the beast set in. In his arms, Naruto squalled as the pressure in Minato's mind doubled, trebled while the Kyuubi tried its hardest to throw off the power of his bankai.

_:Stop, Minato, stop!__: _Muchitsujo cried. _:It's not going to work!:_

A cry was torn from his throat as the pain in his mind increased exponentially and still, the Kyuubi refused to move. A loud _rip_ came from somewhere to his left as the rubble of a building was sucked into nothingness. He was losing control.

_:Give up, Minato! Give up, please!:_

_:My _son_--:_

_:Your son will _die _if you don't give up. You're going to have to use that technique, Minato. I'm sorry.:_

The pressure forced Minato to his knees. By now, Naruto had fallen silent, although as a result of the reiatsu or something else, he didn't know.

"Oh, god." The words were a broken sob. "Kushina, forgive me."

xXx

"So what you're telling me," Kushina said, coldly, calmly. "Is that my husband went to face the Kyuubi around a half hour ago. On his own. Wait, no, not on his own! With our _son!_"

"Kushina, I am sorry," Ukitake said softly, and she really did believe he meant it. "I know as much about this as you do."

"You let him leave!" she yelled, unable to remain rational. "You let him leave, with our child, who is not even a day old! To fight the Kyuubi! Half and hour ago! On his own! _With our son!_" Kushina was well aware that she was repeating herself. She certainly didn't give a damn. "Right, that's it. I'm going in there."

"Kushina, you just gave birth. You are in no fit state to fight _anyone_, let alone a Vasto Lord Hollow."

"Oh, and my son is? Get out of the way, Ukitake."

"I'm afraid I can't let you go, Kushina-san."

She clenched her teeth and glared. Ukitake was on his last legs as it was, exhausted from holding the senkaimon open for so long.

"How are you going to stop me?"

And without waiting for his answer, she shoved past him into the Dagai.

It became obvious almost immediately that Ukitake was right, of course. She was exhausted, reiatsu depleted from giving birth, something that Unohana had never been able to explain to her properly. On top of that, the fight with Kakashi had weakened her even further - the boy was certainly about to reach vice-captain level, if he wasn't there already.

_:Kushina-chan…do you think that maybe this is a bad idea?:_

_:You're full of bad ideas: _she shot back, gasping aloud as she struggling to follow the Hell Butterfly. Thankfully she'd had the foresight to braid her hair into a thick plait before she'd gone after Ukitake, otherwise it would have been everywhere. _:That's never stopped you before.:_

_:Yeah, but I mean really bad idea. As in getting us _killed_ sort of a bad idea.:_

_:Kyushi. Trust me.:_ Why he should trust her, she didn't know. She didn't have a clue what she was doing, but that had never stopped her before.

Grumbling, Kyushi shut up just as the doors appeared and Kushina barrelled through them, not even bothering to wait for them to open. As a result, she fell out of the Dagai about a hundred metres above the spot where she'd meant to, but she managed to catch herself before she hit the ground.

"Hanase, Kyushi!" she cried, before even taking the situation in. _Speak, Messenger._ Kyushi snapped into shikai, tsuba flying off into a boomerang that would act independently of her as the blade elongated into a shepherd's staff.

_You stupid idiot_, _Minato,_ she growled to herself as she assessed the situation. _You _know _I can create boundaries!_

Minato was on his knees with their son in front of him, some sort of paint on the infant's stomach that--

That wasn't paint. That wasn't _paint_.

It was then that Kushina noticed that the ominous presence floating behind her husband wasn't his zanpakutou.

_:What's he _doing_?: _Kyushi exclaimed.

"That's a forbidden technique," she replied faintly, out loud, as Muchitsujo struggled to detain the Kyuubi. It was completely enraged now, desperate to get to the meal that Minato promised even as the arms of Death ripped through Minato's abdomen to grasp at it.

"_Minato!_" she screamed. Her body moved without her say so, dropping madly towards the monster Hollow. If she could just get in one hit, she could draw the boundary around it, cage it, contain it and--

One of the Kyuubi's tails flicked. The world went red, then white, then finally faded to black.

xXx

The world faded in and out as Minato worked on the seal, pouring his life force into it as the Kyuubi struggled and thrashed with his bankai. He was barely aware of the physical manifestation of death finally reaching through him to grasp at the Kyuubi. He thought he heard his wife, a faint scream that echoed horribly, but that wasn't possible. Kakashi was looking after her, and however much his third seat disliked her, he'd never let her die.

It was getting harder to concentrate now, the only thing keeping him on task being the support of Muchitsujo as another part of his awareness aided her in detaining the Kyuubi. It had always been an odd talent of his, splitting his attention between several tasks when needs must.

The Kyuubi roared its frustration, but either the kidou seal was working or Minato just hadn't noticed more buildings crashing.

Something wet trickled out of the corner of his mouth to drop, _pitterpatter_, on the ground in front of him. A third part of Minato blinked at it dumbly.

_Blood._

Muchitsujo disappeared.

_When a shingami's bankai fails them, Minato, it means they are at death's door. _Of all the people, Jiraiya's voice was swirling around his mind. He coughed a weak chuckle, happy to hear a friendly tone at the end, even if it was as morbid as that. Even if it wasn't real.

Without Muchitsujo, the Kyuubi should have broken free, but it seemed the kidou seal had actually worked. That was good. He hadn't been sure.

He looked down at his son, hand reaching out as more reiatsu was ripped from him. Naruto was oddly silent for an infant surrounded by chaos, bright blue eyes wide open. He hoped they didn't fade, beautiful as Kushina's eyes were. He'd like for her to have something to remember him by. More than that, he'd like his son to be able to look in the mirror and know his father was with him, even if it was in the most basic of senses.

Reiatsu glowed red around him and the Kyuubi's despairing last cry echoed throughout the city as the final seal stamped firmly into place. Minato slumped forward, drained and dying as small lines etched themselves into his son's face.

_You are coming with me,_ Death whispered, and its voice was cold, empty. Instead of being reborn as souls were meant to be, Minato would fight for eternity in the belly of this beast.

"I know." His own voice was barely audible, and he thought faintly, amused, that he should have thought of something suitably more impressive to say as his last words.

Death reached for his soul, and Namikaze Minato, sotaichou of the Gotei Fourteen, died with a smile on his face as he thought of his wife and son.

xXx

When Kakashi came to, he was lying in a bed in Fourth. That in itself was odd, seeing as he'd been taken out in a fight with Kushina, and battle injuries went to Fourteenth. Illness and disease were healed in Fourth.

Kakashi replayed that thought. _Fight with…Kushina._

He jerked, struggling to sit up only to find that he'd been restrained with kidou. "What…what--"

"I'm sorry, Kakashi." That was Rin's voice, from his left. He twisted his head to stare incredulously at his friend, whose face was ravaged, eyes red and puffy as if she'd cried until there were no tears left. "We didn't…we didn't want you to hurt yourself."

"What happened?" he asking, nearly choking on the words and the heavy, oppressive air that surrounded them. Rin opened her mouth, but no sound came out. "Rin. What _happened?_"

She shook her head wordlessly and gave an awful, shuddering gasp. "I - Kakashi. Kakashi, they - Namikaze-sotaichouu and U-Uzumaki-fukutaichou. They - they're…"

With a massive effort, he ripped away the Restrain kidou, intent on finding out the truth of what had happened. The state the Rin was in screamed it at him, but he refused to listen, throwing himself off the bed.

Something clattered to the floor. A book, the one he'd been reading before. On reflex, he bent to pick it up, and an untidy scrawl caught his eye as the cover flipped open.

White hot fury flashed through him. He drew his arm back and with an enraged cry, he threw the damn thing across the room before sinking to the ground, staring at his hands. Rin hurried over to him, but he barely felt her arms wrapping him in a desperate hug.

The book fell with the cover open and the words glaring hatefully back at him.

_I'm sorry, Kakashi._

xXx

_Good god, that was…draining, to say the least. As this is a prologue, the next chapter will pick up a ways from here, but we wanted to make sure that this was large enough to give both an introduction to the Bleach/Naruto world we have created here (we added a Division, to say the least, and Sarutobi-sama is unfortunately not here), and to show how serious we are about this._

_Plus, it was really fun to write._

_Unfortunately, it's 2 o'clock in the morning where Bella is so she can't write any greetings herself, but I know for sure that we both hope you guys enjoyed the prologue of __**Ozymandias! **__Thanks for reading :D_


	2. Chapter 1

_Ahh! This is Bella, infiltrating __**Feilyn's**__ profile to bring you an update! Hurrah. We had a lot of fun with this one, although it took a few intense days of work. We're both also really excited by the feedback so far __–__ we were terrified no one would be interested, so, thank you! Anyway, enough of my rambling. Without further ado here is Chapter One of __**Ozymandias**__!_

xXx

The air at the Academy was rife with tension. Upperclassmen were everywhere, it seemed, some charging around in a state of nervous anticipation, others sitting more calmly, concentrating. And then there were those like Inuzuka Kiba, who were leaning against walls and bragging confidently about what they would do after they graduated the Academy.

"It'll be awesome." The young student grinned, absentmindedly steadying the small dog resting on his head. "I mean, to be in the same division as Renji? Eleventh is the most hardcore Division out of them all!"

His classmate nodded enthusiastically. "I heard this one time he--"

Rikichi was cut off as Kiba resumed his gleeful tirade. "You know he's friends with my sister, right? Hana? That's how I met him. She wanted to be in Eleventh as well, but apparently Fourth needed her. Man, she's awesome. Not as awesome as Renji, but whatever."

"A-ah…Kiba-san, I don't think Eleventh like Fourth all that much?" Yamada Hanatarou ventured.

Kiba looked unconvinced. "Che. You don't know what you're talking about." On his head, the dog yipped. "Heh, see? Akamaru agrees."

"Fourth Division." All three boys jumped as a new voice entered the conversation. "Once devoted solely to the healing of illness and disease, now responsible for all shinigami ailments." Haruno Sakura smirked as she flipped her long pink hair over her shoulder with well-practiced ease. She raised her hands as if she were weighing something. "Eleventh. Most combat-obsessed division out of the Gotei Thirteen." Her hands dropped to her sides and rested on her hips. "Aside from being total opposites, everyone knows those two Divisions hate each other." She threw Kiba an antagonizing look.

Inuzuka pointedly ignored it. "Whatever."

Sakura scowled. "Honestly, don't you _listen_? Hanatarou's right, Kiba, Eleventh and Fourth _don't_ get along."

Kiba's eyebrows raised incredulously. "You don't know what you're on about, Haruno. Hana and Renji are friends, of course Eleventh and Fourth get along. I see them getting along every day!"

Rikichi and Hanatarou stood awkwardly, pressing themselves against the wall as Kiba and Sakura glared at each other. "You're wrong. The only healing division Eleventh ever respected was Fourteenth and that's because they were experienced healers trained in _combat_. When they folded, none of that respect went to Fourth!"

Kiba's grip tightened on his zanpakutou and Akamaru growled. "They're doing the work of two Divisions! Your logic doesn't make any sense, and I know my sister has plenty of friends in Eleventh." He bared his teeth a little, daring Sakura to insult his sister.

"Maybe because your sister is the only one out of them that knows her way around a zanpukutou. Or _maybe _she just knows her way around _Eleventh_."

Hanatarou flinched. That wasn't going to go down well at all.

"What did you just say?"

"I think you can guess! Or can you?"

"Fine! If they suck so badly then you're bound to be put in that Division before you even finish your exam. You can all go be useless together." Kiba grinned as Sakura's hand flew to the hilt of her zanpakutou.

"Hey, what are you two idiots doing?" A familiar voice rang out and stopped them in their tracks. Sakura turned her head to glare over her shoulder as the voice continued. "Shouldn't you be shaking in your boots in the face of the big, scary exam?" Yamanaka Ino smirked at them gleefully, ignoring the wave Rikichi directed at her. "Seen Shikamaru anywhere?"

Ino's arrival somehow broke the tension between Sakura and Kiba, possibly owing to her ability to aggravate Sakura far more than Kiba ever could, and Kiba's rapid loss of interest when Rikichi resumed conversation on how amazing Renji was.

"Seriously, where are the others?" Ino asked, flipping her hair in a gesture almost identical to Sakura's before her. "Or are we the only people actually interested in a seated position?"

"Well, I'm sure Sasuke-kun will be here any minute now," Sakura replied officiously.

"I know _that, _Forehead. It's a given, that's why I didn't say anything!"

Sakura snarled something back. Caught in the middle of two arguing girls and two boys idolising someone he didn't even know, Hanatarou sighed.

It was going to be a long day. And he didn't even know where his zanpakutou was.

xXx

Kuchiki Rukia was currently concentrating very hard on breathing, and not _stopping_ breathing. Her Captain had just asked her to accompany him to the final examinations, _alone,_ while Thirteenth's vice-captain, Shiba Kaien, lead the troops in the real world.

"I…me, Ukitake-taichou?" she stuttered. "But I - I'm not even seated, sir! It wouldn't be proper."

"Proper? But I'm sure there are people whom you would like to see graduate," her Captain said, sounding surprised.

Rukia blushed and looked at her feet. She was too eager, too obvious. "Ukitake-taichou, Kuchiki…um, Nii-sama made me promise—"

His gentle smile stopped her. "It is not unusual for taichou to take younger members of their Division to see the graduates. Especially if those members are likely to be seated at some point."

She blushed harder, inwardly cursing her inability to wear a Kuchiki poker-face. She had been on the streets too long, where emotions ran sky high and delirious.

"And if we happen to run into say, Uzumaki Naruto, well who's to say it wasn't an accident?" The man's gentle brown eyes were sparkling and Rukia couldn't help but lift her head higher and smile back before remembering.

"_You are now a representative of the Kuchiki clan.__"__ The nobleman__'__s dark eyes were centred somewhere over her left shoulder. __"__Showing one__'__s emotions is unseemly in a member of the aristocracy. If you remember nothing else, Kuchiki Rukia, remember this.__"_

She shuddered slightly. Her new brother's face had been empty as he told her this – the perfect Kuchiki. Yet Rukia knew he had been married once, before her adoption, to a commoner like her. She couldn't imagine this cold, uncaring man loving anyone.

Ukitake sighed. "I wish you would smile more often, Kuchiki-san. It does an old man good to see you happy."

"Ukitake-taichou is not old," she responded immediately. Which was a blatant lie – Rukia had heard rumours that the man was over two thousand years old. Nonetheless, the way her Captain had said it made him sound as if he was about to drop dead any moment. "You look as though you have many centuries of life left in you." Oh, she was so lame.

"You flatter me, Kuchiki-san." They began to flash-step in the general direction of the Academy, Ukitake very kindly slowing so she could keep up. Rukia watched him carefully, having been briefed by the Thirteenth's vice-captain about the various types of activities that could trigger an attack.

She allowed herself a small smile at the thought of Shiba Kaien. He was loud and exuberant and reminded her of old friends. It was sometimes hard to remember that he was also head of the prestigious Shiba house.

_Why can the Kuchiki family not be more like them?_

She cut that thought off instantly. It wasn't her place to be disappointed with her lot. It wasn't her place to do anything, to hear her etiquette teacher say it.

"Are you aware of how the examinations to apply for a seated position works, Kuchiki?"

"I…was not expected to take the examinations until the year after my adoption. When I entered the Gotei I had had no cause to find out," she replied, sure that he already knew. Nonetheless, she clarified. "Last year."

"So that's a no?" he teased lightly. "Well, you should have some idea of how one becomes a seated officer, even if this is only procedure for those straight out of the Academy."

Ukitake, from the moment Rukia had entered his Division, had been grooming her for a seated position. On the one hand, she was ecstatic - part of the reason she'd accepted the Kuchiki's offer was to get ahead in the Gotei Thirteen - but on the other, and as a direct result of now being a Kuchiki lady, she doubted that her new family would allow her to become seated. Apparently, her position as Kuchiki Byakuya's younger sister made her the heir until someone - _anyone_, if you believed the family - more suitable came along.

"So, um, how are the seated members chosen?"

"Well, it's really not all that difficult, but it is certainly an interesting process to watch. The exams for those simply wishing to pass into the Gotei Thirteen and perhaps work their way up the ranks at a later date will be held tomorrow, but today those wishing to try for a seated position must fight against each other and prove themselves skilled at zanjutsu, or else apt enough at kidou to make up for it. They need not win to gain a seated position, but merely prove themselves. In addition to this, they must perform shikai in front of a taichou of the Gotei Thirteen. Myself, Unohana-taichou and Aizen-taichou will be overseeing the tests today. "

"I…have shikai."

He smiled at her again and she thrust down the urge to grin back. _Poker-face, woman, poker-face! _"You do. However, Kaien-fukutaichou has noticed - and I agree - that your zanpakutou appears to have further capabilities."

"Really?" Rukia blurted before she could stop herself. "I mean, I thought I felt…but I've already attained shikai. Is it possible to have more than one ability?"

"It is not common, no, but most definitely possible." He frowned, apparently thinking about it as they leapt across rooftops. It was a wonder that anyone ever used the streets in the Seireitei, really. "From what I recall, Madarame Ikkaku of Eleventh has two release commands. But regardless of the likelihood, Kaien has offered to train you personally."

Rukia nearly fell off the roof they'd briefly alighted on. "Shiba-fukutaichou? Train_ me?_ But--"

"No excuses, Kuchiki-san." Ukitake's voice remained gentle, but there was a firm note to it that she didn't hear very often. "Both myself and Kaien feel that you have a great deal of potential. I'm afraid I must insist." Brown eyes sparkled once again. Ukitake, she'd noticed, was very involved in all of his subordinates lives. He knew how much being seated meant to her.

She thought about it quietly as they set down outside the Academy gates, before slowly turning a serious face up to him. "I suppose I'll have to live with it then."

He smiled again, and this time she didn't hide the returning grin.

xXx

"S-Sakura-san?" Hanatarou's timid voice caused Sakura to look up from her careful examination of her fingernails. Ino-Pig had long since flounced off to find Shikamaru, but Sakura hadn't had anything better to do than stick around until Sasuke showed up.

"Yes?"

"Could you tell me a little more about the Fourteenth? I...eheh, I've never really heard much about them and..." He looked down, a little flustered. "And I'll probably end up in Fourth, if I ever graduate."

The pink-haired girl smiled as him and rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. "That's all right, Hana-chan. Fourth's not really so bad. Or so I've heard. What did you want to know?"

"What happened to them? You said they were on the battle field, but then they just folded…" He trailed off, awaiting her explanation.

"Oh. Yeah. Well, basically there were two healing divisions. Fourteenth were trained in combat and healed battle wounds on the field while Fourth...pretty much worked with anything not inflicted in a fight." She glanced at Hanatarou, who nodded for her to continue. "A hundred and ten years ago, when the Kyuubi attacked, Fourteenth was wiped out. The taichou and fukutaichou were killed along with most of the division." Her green eyes were solemn, for once. "It was decided to just merge the few members of Fourteenth that were left into Fourth, instead of trying to re-build an entire division when things were so..." The student paused, looking for the right word. "... screwed up."

"W-wiped out? An entire Division?"

"Well, it wasn't the whole Division. Just most of it. Eleventh got done pretty badly as well, but that was before Zaraki. They were a bigger Division though, and easier to rebuild." She thought for a second before she continued. "Maybe that's why they give Fourth such a hard time. Fourteenth met their end on the battlefield beside them, and Fourth survived by lingering in the Seiretei."

Hanatarou's brow furrowed. "But that's not their fault, is it? Unless…not all the divisions except Fourth were in the field, were they?"

Sakura shook her head. "No. But Eleventh and Fourteenth worked together a lot, and judging by the people who want to go into Eleventh--" She cast a scathing look at Kiba. "--they aren't exactly a discerning lot."

They fell into silence again as Hanatarou mulled over Sakura's words. The dark haired boy was about to ask the girl another question when he was cut off by another loud voice joining Kiba's exuberant monologue.

"Renji? You're talking about Abarai Renji?" The brazen tone forced both Hanatarou and Sakura to turn and look. Uzumaki Naruto had arrived, noisily. As usual. "I know him!"

Kiba didn't look particularly impressed. "Of course you know Renji. Everyone knows Renji."

"But he's a friend of mine!" Naruto elaborated loudly as Sakura watched the two with her eyebrows slowly inching higher. "We grew up together, out in the Rukongai!"

At this, Kiba snorted. "Sure. You're an idiot, Naruto." He sneered at the blond boy. "There is no way you and Renji are friends."

Hanatarou watched a little nervously as Naruto and Kiba launched into repetitive arguing, throwing insults back and forth.

"We're friends, damn it!"

"Quit lyin', Uzumaki."

"You calling me a liar, Kiba?"

"How stupid are you that you need to ask?"

Hanatarou closed his eyes. There was going to be no getting through this day alive.

The argument flew back and forth with Sakura becoming visibly more irritated as the two boys volume gradually rose.

"Shut up, Naruto!" She finally joined the fray. "There is no way a deadbeat like you could be friends with someone seated!"

The spiky-haired student looked ever so slightly like he'd been slapped in the face. "Sakura-chan..."

"Don't call me that!" she snapped, leaning against the wall of the building and inadvertently echoing Kiba's pose.

Naruto wilted, before spotting something out of the corner of his eyes. "Nah, nah, I can prove it Sakura-chan!" He was all energy again. "Rukia! Oi, Rukia!"

xXx

The moment she heard Naruto's voice, Rukia knew it had been a bad idea to come. A horrific idea, even. Because she'd known he would see her. And she'd known that if he saw her, he'd want to talk to her.

And she was forbidden to respond.

_Why_ she was no longer allowed to maintain contact with one of her oldest friends, she didn't know. Byakuya had not objected to her continuing to speak to Renji, although since he had achieved a seated position they had fallen out of touch. Nor had he disallowed her any contact with other commoners.

Just Naruto.

"Rukia! Oi, Rukia!"

Thankfully, Rukia had lagged behind her Captain in the hope that she would see the idiot blond, and as such he wasn't there to witness her extreme rudeness.

She continued walking.

"C'mon, Rukia, don't be like that!"

_Ignore him. Ignore him, and perhaps he__'__ll go away and not be hurt._

"Oi, Uzumaki, isn't that the Kuchiki? The adopted one?" said one of the other males. Inuzuka Kiba, she thought he was called.

"Che. Being a Kuchiki doesn't mean she's not still Rukia. Oi, Rukia! Come over here and meet my friends!"

"We're not your _friends_, Naruto," a feminine voice sniffed. Rukia instantly pinned it down and memorised it, even if she couldn't place a name to the voice.

"Sakura-chan!"

"I said don't _call_ me that! Jeez, you're such a loser."

Rukia's fists clenched as she picked up the pace, finally resorting to flash-steps to get away.

Guilt ate at her, but there was nothing she could do.

"Did you happen to see anyone you recognised?" Ukitake asked when she finally found him seating in front of a large training area.

"…No."

He caught the lie, she knew, but was courteous enough not to mention it. "Well, perhaps you'll see them here. I believe the students are heading over now."

"Sasuke-kun!" A piercing screech split the air. Rukia blinked in shock, taking a moment to separate the voices out and realise that it was actually several girls yelling in tandem as one irritated looking pretty-boy stalked onto the field, hand on his zanpakutou.

Uchiha Sasuke. A member of one of the lesser noble clans, traditionally associated with the Kuchiki clan. His father had been vice-captain to the previous Kuchiki Captain of Sixth Division, before his death.

Rukia had known nothing of nobles, or indeed, much about the Seireitei in general when Uchiha Itachi had massacred his clan, but she'd certainly had cause to find out about it since becoming a member of the Kuchiki family. Apparently seeking to legitimize her claim as heir, she'd been summarily betrothed to the last Uchiha. It was a mark of how much she'd changed over the past two years that the idea did not even bother her. She'd had time to grow used to the idea that her life was no longer her own.

Plus, she wasn't even sure if the Uchiha knew of the engagement. They had never spoken.

"Troublesome," came a sigh from behind her. Rather skilfully, she refrained from jumping into the air in shock as a guy with pineapple hair like Renji's came into view. Nara Shikamaru, heir to a respected, if not noble, clan from the first district of East Rukongai.

"Shouldn't you be on the field?" she enquired, politely enough for someone who'd just had the life **s**cared out of her.

"I'm hiding."

"From what?"

"That." He nodded in the direction of a long-haired blonde at the front of the herd of girls stalking Uchiha. Yamanaka Ino, also from East Rukongai. Her family had a history of being in Second Division. More useless information assaulted her, but Rukia blocked it out with the ease of one long suffering. _So many useless lessons._

"C'mon, Shikamaru." Another boy, rather larger than most, wandered over and grabbed Nara's arm. "If you don't take the exam, she'll yell at you. And then she'll tell your _mother._"

Nara looked up at the clouds, then sighed again. "Troublesome," he repeated, before allowing himself to be dragged onto the field.

Next to her, Ukitake looked amused.

More students started trailing onto the field, but there was no telltale flash of blond or wake of disaster to announce Naruto's arrival.

"I can't _believe _that Uzumaki!!" Instantly, Rukia recognised the voice of the girl who had been so rude to her friend. "How dare he steal Sasuke-kun's first kiss? I _hate_ him!"

A chorus of feminine voices yelled their agreements as the pink-haired girl came into view. She spotted Rukia at the same time, and turned to the group surrounding her.

"Hey, hold up a few seconds, would you? I need to go and talk to someone."

Rukia watched impassively as Pinky walked over confidently. It was a struggle to keep the dislike off her face, but she managed it. Somehow.

"Hi! Um, I just wanted to apologise for that idiot Naruto yelling at you before. He gets pretty stupid like that…actually, he's like that all the time. I hope you don't think all of us students are like that." She laughed, a little awkwardly. "Anyway, I'm Haruno Sakura." She held out her hand. "Kuchiki Rukia, right?"

Rukia stared at the hand in cool disbelief. "This is a joke, yes?"

"I'm sorry?"

She pulled on her best voice of Kuchiki disdain. "Surely you do not belief that I'd be willing to even touch the hand of someone so infantile as you, let alone shake your hand and become your friend."

Next to her, Ukitake's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but Rukia was so angry at this _Haruno Sakura _that she didn't care about how rude she was being. The girl's eyes widened and a look of complete shock passed over her face before it screwed up into something resembling childish hate.

"Fine I didn't really want to be friends with the _Ice Bitch_ anyway." She stalked off. The effect was rather ruined back the way she nearly tripped over her own feet. It occurred to Rukia that perhaps the girl wasn't as confident as she seemed, but she decided she didn't care.

"You didn't recognise anyone?" Ukitake asked again.

The students assembled and one of the teachers, Umino Iruka, began to outline what Rukia was sure they had all memorised.

"No one," she replied, as Uzumaki Naruto skidded late onto the field.

xXx

Four fights down, and three people guaranteed to enter the Gotei Thirteen at a seated level. Hyuuga Hinata, Akimichi Chouji and now Pig. Sakura held her head high as she walked into the marked out area, ignoring the patronising smirk on the victorious Ino's face. A bloody nosed Rikichi trailed off in another direction, and from the crowd of students she was sure she heard Kiba's disbelieving voice. "You got beaten up by Ino. _Dude._"

"Good luck, Forehead." The blonde was using a voice that might have seemed genuinely friendly if not for the mocking smile on her lips. Sakura stuck her nose a little higher in the air.

"Like I need it, Pig."

The snort from Ino made her open her eyes. "I think you might." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder and Sakura's eyes followed it.

_Oh god._

Ino laughed at the expression that spread over the pink haired girl's face. "Priceless!" The blonde girl walked off with a sway of her hips. Normally Sakura would have glared after her, but in this instance there was a far more pressing concern.

Once again, Kiba's voice stood out from the crowd. "Holy crap! That guy is like, a meat mountain!" His laughter was backed by Akamaru's barking. "Haruno is so _screwed_!"

"You can do it, Saaaakura-chaaan!"

"Shut_ up, _Naruto," she growled under her breath, Naruto's voice even more irritating when it interrupted her train of thought. She had no idea what she was going to do fighting this guy. _He makes Akimichi look like a delicate flower._

Her grasp tightened on her zanpukatou, Yami Sakura. She could feel her presence, practically pushing her onto the field with anticipation.

_:This'll be easy... a fat ass like that isn't going to be fast.:_

_:You don't know that.: _Sakura eyed him cautiously, aware that she was missing his name as he introduced himself to the panel of Captains.

_:He's probably pretty stupid too.:_

_:Yami!:_

"Your name?" One of the Captains speaking broke her out of her internal argument.

"Oh, uh, Haruno Sakura." The Captain smiled at her and she instantly felt less nervous. She flashed back what she hoped was a charming smile of her own.

_:So _that's_ Aizen-taicho.: _

_:You're a pervert, Sakura.: _

Her indignant response was pre-empted by the voice of her teacher, Umino Iruka.

"Begin."

The meat mountain drew his zapukatou. _:Okay. We can do this. Are you ready?: _

He charged towards her with a roar. Sakura lunged to one side, nimbly ducking away from the blade as he swung it.

_:I'm _always_ ready! Lets take some bitches_ down_!: _

Sakura rolled her eyes a little as she drew her red-wrapped kodachi. _:Always so dramatic.:_

Sakura's opponent was gathering momentum as he went, his strength and speed escalating as he pursued her with his blur of a sword. She continued to dodge and evade, parrying the blows he dealt but becoming more and more reliant on her speed to get her through as the attacks became heavier. A stinging sensation ripped across her arm as he finally succeeded in landing a blow. She felt Yami surge a little in her hand.

Without even thinking, she raised her hands. "Destructive Spell Number Four! Shou!" _Thrust. _The giant guy stumbled backwards with the force of the kidou blast. A wicked grin snuck across her face as she followed up with a second kidou. "Binding Spell Number four! Hainawa!" _Crawling Rope. _Energy rapidly formed around his arms and tightened, leaving him caught and unable to utilize his zanpukatou. His eyes widened as he looked at the tiny pink haired girl before him.

Her grip on Yami tightened a little. _:__Lets do it already!:_ Her zanpukato was getting impatient. As usual.

She raised the kodachi in front of her in a two handed grip. "Hanei shinasai, Yami Sakura!" _Reflect, Dark Sakura._

The zanpakutou warped and buckled, wrapping around her hands and settling in black brass knuckles as she charged towards her immobilized opponent. Sakura's teeth gritted as she drove her fist into his gut with reiatsu augmented strength. Her opponent folded at the knees with a grunt and--

_:The kidneys! Get him in the kidneys!:_

--she drove her elbow into his back and spun in time to watch him keel over with a thunderous crash and retch on the ground

_:That was _awesome!_:_

Sakura grinned, a little breathlessly. _:Yeah. That _was _pretty freaking awesome.:_

xXx

Sasuke was not worried in the slightest about the outcome of this battle. He would win. He would attain a seated position in the Sixth Division and work his way up through the ranks until he sat at his hereditary place of vice-captain, and then he would do what no other Uchiha had managed before him, and become a Captain.

And then he would leave and find Itachi. And kill him.

So what if he didn't know exactly how he was going to do it? Details were unimportant, it was results that mattered.

"Saaaaaaaaasuuuuuuuuuuuke-kun! Kick his ass!"

He rolled his eyes, ignoring the shrieks of the various females lining the sides of the marked out area and concentrating on his opponent.

Nara Shikamaru. He wished he could have gotten someone more challenging to prove himself against, but he supposed he would have to make do. At least he wasn't facing some idiot like Uzumaki Naruto.

"You suck, Uchiha! There's no way you can win against…what? _Shikamaru?_ Aw, man!"

He turned and glared at the moron before introducing himself to the three Captains. "I am Uchiha Sasuke," he told them tonelessly, taking in the people who would decide his future.

Captain Aizen Sousuke, who had his vice, Hatake Kakashi with him. The bastard Uchiha and the man with the stolen Sharingan. His eyes moved restlessly past them to Captain Unohana Retsu, who was on her own, and then skipped further along to Captain Ukitake Jyuushiro. Shiba Kaien was on patrol, so it took him a moment to place the person standing awkwardly at his side.

Hn. Kuchiki Rukia. For some reason, he had the feeling that this name was supposed to mean something to him.

"Nara Shikamaru," his opponent yawned, lazily drawing his black zanpakutou. "Let's get this over and done with."

Sasuke didn't wait for the signal from Umino Iruka to begin. In a real battle situation, there would be no such warning.

_:He is more prepared than you think, Sasuke.: _The soft tones of his zanpakutou echoed through his mind as he drew her and flash-stepped towards his opponent. The gasps from the audience were unsurprising - less than half of them had managed to master the art.

_:He is a lazy idiot who slept through more than half of our classes, Amaterasu. I can handle him fine.:_

A gentle sigh. _:If you insist.:_

There was a shower of sparks as his black katana met Nara's wakizashi. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly in shock at the force behind his opponent's simple block and he flash-stepped back before darting forward to met him again.

Nara blocked lazily once again and Sasuke gritted his teeth as their zanpakutou locked. Nara did nothing to riposte, however, so Sasuke twisted out of the way and slashed Amaterasu in a wide, sideways sweeping movement, which his opponent easily jumped over.

"Ha_ha!_ Take that, Uchiha!" God _damn_ Uzumaki was loud.

It was proving impossible to lay a hit on his opponent. Nara made no attempt to fight back but he blocked each and every strike, stroke and slash of Sasuke's seemingly without effort, despite the longer reach of Sasuke's weapon. Of course, Sasuke wasn't losing breath either, but that wasn't the _point_. A wakizashi wasn't even a proper weapon, intended to be a back-up blade only.

He was meant to be the best. How could he kill Itachi if he couldn't even beat one lazy student?

"Tero, Amaterasu!" _Shine, Sun Goddess_. The rectangular tsuba of his katana melted into the hilt as the black colour retreated into a single stripe down the middle of the blade.

Other than that, though, the sword gained no new abilities. It was _Sasuke_ who changed.

_:Remember, we are not here to kill him, Sasuke.:_

Sasuke didn't bother replying, sucking in a lungful of air as he ran at Nara once again. Fire danced from his palm down the blade as he released the air again in the form of a large stream of fire that twirled around his opponent's form, for all intents and purposes immobilising him.

Sasuke smirked, raising Amaterasu to deliver the final blow, a simple slice across the chest that could easily be lethal if he tried.

Through the flames, however, Nara didn't look worried in the slightest.

"Troublesome," Sasuke heard him sigh. "Ah, well. Erabunasai, Shinda no Sentakumono." _Choose, Chooser of the Slain_. The wakizashi inverted, white tsuba forming the blade as the black blade formed the shaft of a spear. Sasuke was moving too fast to avoid the weapon fully, and winced slightly as the spear bit into his shoulder.

"Make the flames go away," Nara said, sounding faintly irritated. "And drop your zanpakutou."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, steadying himself and making ready to carry through with his final strike.

Or at least, that's what he meant to do. Instead, he found himself ordering the flames to return to his body with two simple, soundless movements.

Suddenly, he became aware of the crowd's noise. Or rather, the lack of it. The crowd stared in shocked silence as Sasuke's fingers loosened around Amaterasu and the zanpakutou fell to the ground.

"Yes! Go Shikamaru! I'll never doubt you again, man! Freakin' awesome!"

xXx

"Heheh. I still can't believe how badly Sasuke got owned. Man, that was epic." Although bearing two black eyes, one each from Ino and Sakura, Naruto didn't seem to care. "It sucks that he still got through, though. That's what - Hinata, Chouji, Kiba, Sakura, Shino, Shikamaru, Ino and him? Who's next?"

"U-um, well, I think it's us, Naruto-san," Hanatarou stuttered next to him.

"Us?" Naruto's eyebrows shot up his forehead. "As in, you and me?" He looked around the field. "Heh. Guess they were saving the best till last. C'mon, Hanatarou, let's go and give our names. I'll go easy on you, promise."

"Really?"

"Sure thing."

Naruto placed his hand on the orange-wrapped hilt of his tanto as he and Hanatarou walked towards the Captains. Talking very fast, he tried to convince the presence in his mind to tell him its name.

He was greeted with an amused silence.

_:C__'__mon! You did this last year as well! Can__'__t you give me a break?:_

_:When you earn the break, it will be given to you.:_

Naruto nearly fell over in shock._ :Hey, you__'__re talking to me! Does this mean I__'__ve trained enough? You know, I trained real hard this year, I__'__m sure I earned it.:_

The amused presence remained, but he received no reply. Sighing, Naruto drew the tanto and started tossing it nervously from hand to hand. He was sure that once he got started, the zanapkutou would tell him its name.

"Uzumaki Naruto, the next sotaichou," he announced, grinning widely. A chorus of jeers rose from the crowd, and he turned to wave at them. A choked laugh came from a little closer, but when his head jerked in the direction it had come from, all he saw was Rukia's stony glare.

Man, that was the same look she used to give him when he wouldn't share his ramen with the kids who didn't have reiatsu. He almost tried to pass the chopsticks over to her before he realised he didn't have any chopsticks. Or indeed, any ramen.

_Mm, ramen._

"Y-Yamada Hanatarou." His friend introduced himself, tripping over his name. "Eheh. I don't really know what I'm doing here."

All three Captains looked on kindly, although the vice-captain just pulled out a book and started reading. Naruto squinted. _Icha Icha Paradise?_

Iruka-sensei cleared his throat, and Naruto jumped instinctively, nearly dropping his zanpakutou. Nervously, Hanatarou drew his own blade. From what Naruto could remember (and to tell the truth, it wasn't much) Hanatarou didn't know the name of his zanpakutou either.

Well, they'd both find out in this fight, then.

"Begin," Iruka instructed.

Naruto didn't hesitate. He didn't _want_ to hurt Hanatarou, but he did really want to become a seated member. He wasn't going to enter the Gotei Thirteen as anything else, because he was Uzumaki Naruto. And that was reason enough.

There was no particular plan in his attack. He threw himself at Hanatarou and slashed and stabbed, weaving around the other boy's katana in a reckless style he'd had plenty of time to perfect.

The irritating thing was, that whenever he scored a hit, Hanatarou would somehow find the time to heal it. Maybe not immediately, but by the time Naruto thought to look again, the wound would be gone. Even more annoying was that every time Hanatarou's zanpakutou came in contact with Naruto - difficult when they were fighting at such close quarters - nothing _happened_. In fact, as the fight went on, Naruto found himself feeling _better_, which was distinctly weird. About a half hour into the fight, he ceased worrying about the reach of Hanatarou's zanpakutou and concentrated purely on winning, hoping like hell that with victory would come the name of his own zanpakutou so that he could ascend to seated level.

He could do this. He _could._

There was a gauge, he noticed, on the side of Hanatarou's zanpakutou. The blade sliced across his cheek, leaving no mark, and he grinned widely, seeing an opening just as the gauge filled up red.

"Stop."

The voice was quiet, almost pleasant, but nonetheless Hanatorou and Naruto both froze as Captain Unohana called the command. Hanatorou yelped in shock, dropping his zanpakutou as it changed shape in his hand to a tiny scalpel.

A tiny scalpel that discharged a huge blinding red _light_. Naruto flung himself to the ground where Hanatarou was already cowering, and waited for it to disappate.

"What the hell was _that?_" he yelled when it was over. He turned to Hanatarou. "Dude! That was freaking awesome!" The blond glanced over at the Captains. They'd ended up pretty close to them. "Uh, why'd we stop?"

"Yamada-san's zanpakutou has the power to heal any wound it touches, including those it causes," Unohana said, smiling. Naruto was a little unnerved, and more than a little confused. _What__'__s the point in a weapon like that? _"It seems, however, that whenever the gauge on the side fills up, shikai initiates automatically and concentrates all of the wounds it has healed into one attack. I did not want anyone getting harmed by such a powerful attack." The smile widened. "Congratulations, Yamada-san. You are now able to enter the Gotei Thirteen as a seated member."

Hanatarou looked like he was about to faint. "I, uh…t-thank you," he managed to say, before Rikichi ran into the marked out area and pulled him away.

Naruto looked at his feet. He knew what was coming, and he couldn't stand to be looking at Rukia when the Captain's told him his fate.

"Uzumaki Naruto," said the Captain with the glasses. Aizen. "Your combat skills are up to par. In order to enter the Gotei Thirteen at seated level, however, you must be able to perform shikai. Can you do this?"

_:C__'__mon, please. Please, I__'__m begging you here.:_

This time, he didn't even get an amused silence. Something more sinister stirred in his gut, but no reply came.

"No," he admitted softly, wishing he had someone else to stick up for him as the crowd started to laugh.

"Then I am afraid we cannot allow you to pass this exam."

xXx

_Wow, this really was so much fun to write. However, I have to say there is no way it could have happened without the amazingness that is __**Feilyn**__. Seriously. The girl is epically awesome (I do enjoy shamelessly promoting someone from their own profile, it really adds a certain something.) _

_Anyway! Thank you so much for reading! We hope that you enjoyed this chapter and we'd love to hear your thoughts. Cheers!_


	3. Chapter 2

_All right, this is Feilyn bringing you the latest chapter of Ozymandias! Bella offers a sleepy hello and regrets her absence, but she spent all night writing her share of this chapter and really needs some sleep._

_Right, in response to a few questions - yes, Ichigo and the gang will be involved in this story. Currently, however, we are thirty eight years before the start of the bleach timeline and none of them are born yet, lol._

_Anyway! I'm almost certain I've replied to all of you on behalf of both Bella and myself, but thank you so, so much for the absolutely overwhelming response to this fic. Your reviews are unbelievably appreciated and wonderful._

_Also, Bella doesn't know that I'm putting this here, but basically, I really have to pimp her out. We made a joint decision to post Ozy in my profile so it would get more exposure, seeing as I've been on the site two years to her two months, but it means that my fics get more (much appreciated) reviews, and hers are being rather neglected. So, just to remind you, my awesome amazing co-author is __**bellzooks**__, and she can be found via the search engine or my favourite author's page on my profile!_

_Right, enough of this waffle! Here's your chapter, the biggest yet!_

xXx

_There is no way Naruto had a good day__,_ Iruka thought as he leapt across a couple of rooftops, keeping an eye out for the presumably downcast blond student.

The Academy instructor frowned. _If he'd only accept graduation without a seated position._ But the boy had that damn Uzumaki pride, and there was no getting around something like that.

The sound of a familiar voice swearing caught his attention. Iruka turned the corner around a building that was a little taller than the others and finally spotted Naruto, sitting at the edge of a rooftop with his zanpakutou in his hands. Iruka landed softly on the roof, footsteps almost silent as he paced towards the student.

"I hate you."

Naruto's hurt tone stung, although Iruka knew full well the blond was talking to the tanto he held.

"Hey, Naruto!" A smile and a wave went unnoticed when the blond refused to turn around.

"What do you want?" _He's definitely sulking, then._

"Can't a sensei treat a student to ramen these days?" The sullen look he received didn't make it look very likely. Sighing, Iruka made his way over to Naruto and sat down. "Listen, Naruto. I know this seems like the worst thing in the world right now, but its not like you _have_ to spend another year in the Academy." Silence. "Lets get some ramen. I hear the new recipe they're trying out for spicy chicken and shrimp is amazing." He thought he heard a slight sniff as Naruto returned his tanto to its hilt. The student didn't go to say anything, but the sound of his stomach grumbling betrayed him.

"I _have_ been wanting to try that."

"Thats the spirit!" Iruka slapped him on the back before jumping down to the ground. Naruto gave him a weak effort at a smile, which compared to his usual blinding grins was really pretty pathetic. The blond student followed Iruka down and they made their way to the ramen bar.

xXx

"But why can't I just be a seated officer, Iruka-sensei? Aizen-taicho said that I'm really skilled!" Naruto's face settled in a pout for a moment before he wolfed down another mouthful of the ramen before him.

"Its not just zanjutsu that you must be skilled in though. The entire point of demonstrating shikai is to show that you have a functioning relationship with your zanpakutou." Iruka placed his chopsticks down and smiled slightly, remembering when he had first heard these words. "The relationship you have with your zanpakutou must be one of mutualism. Symbiosis." The look he received from Naruto was completely blank. To be fair, Iruka had given a similar reaction when Soi Fon had first told him.

"Eh?"

"Good for both of you," Iruka simplified. "As a shinigami, you and your zanpakutou must fight together. It's a part of you." Pleased with his explanation, he picked up his chopsticks again.

"But Rikichi said that he heard Zaraki-taichou doesn't even have shikai!"

The instructor coughed. "Zaraki-taichou is an... unconventional exception." He glanced at Naruto. "His strength is astronomical, Naruto. It's a special case."

"I could be a special case!" The blond was grinning ear to ear now, and there was a hopeful note in his voice that Iruka hated to crush.

He shook his head.

"No, Naruto. Zaraki-taichou is a force of nature. Its impossible to compare with a man like that." His brow furrowed as he watched Naruto's face droop. His voice softened a little. "You don't have to graduate as a seated officer in order to assure eventual promotion. You could just... give yourself time." Iruka winced at how that sounded. It was almost exactly what he had told Naruto the previous year, when his classmate Renji graduated before him.

The spiky haired blond fell silent, save for the slurping sounds as he finished off his ramen.

"Thanks for the ramen, Iruka-sensei." Naruto swivelled off the stool. "I'm gonna go sleep, I guess."

Iruka's eyebrows shot up. "The sun only just set, Naruto." The blond was already turned to the door. His sensei's face slipped into a frown that almost looked guilty. "But, uh…anytime," he finished lamely, raising his hand in a wave. Naruto didn't turn back but raised his hand in kind, before embedding it in his pocket.

Iruka sighed and poked at the shrimp in his bowl.

_Naruto__…_

xXx

Naruto swore as the stone he'd been kicking along the ground rebounded off a wall and returned to hit him in the shin. He knelt down, rucking up the leg of his stupid Academy uniform to reveal broken skin and a slight bruise that was already turning his skin green. The blond swore again as the pain in his leg was added to the 'list of reasons why today sucked', ignoring the sound of fast footsteps crunching into the ground behind him.

"Uzumaki-kun! Are you all right?"

Naruto looked up with surprise to see one of the Captain's from the examination. "Aizen-taichou?"

The Captain smiled kindly from behind his glasses. "I'm glad I caught you, Iruka said you were headed back towards the student barracks." He paused for a moment as Naruto stood and dusted his knees off. "I was very sorry about your exam today, Uzumaki-kun."

Naruto froze. _Yeah, well, then why didn't you pass me? _But he didn't say it. Even he wasn't so stupid as to antagonize a Captain.

"Its obvious that you have a huge amount of potential," the older man continued, shaking his head sadly as he lapsed into silence.

Naruto frowned at the ground, scuffing his heels a little.

"The stupid idiot won't even talk to me!" The words finally blurted out, frustrated, as if Naruto had been struggling with the thought. He grabbed his tanto tightly as he turned his face up to Aizen.

Emotions ran wild in Rukongai. Now they were running wild in front of a Captain, frustration and disappointment and _why can't I make it work? _

The weight of a comforting hand appeared on his shoulder.

"Naruto-kun," Aizen began gently. "Naruto-kun, I meant what I said about your potential." There was a pregnant pause as Naruto stared despondently at the ground.

_What good is potential if I can't even use it? _

"Do you think that it's meant to be easy to master an incredibly powerful zanpakutou?" Aizen's voice was calm, understanding, and Naruto felt the boiling in his gut subside a little. "I believe that your own strength is proving to be your greatest challenge."

"What's that mean?" Naruto wiped his nose with the back of his hand, muffling his words. The uneasy presence that had been with him since he failed the exam drew back a little.

The Captain smiled. "It means I am going to train with you, Naruto-kun. I think--" He adjusted his glasses. "-- that with the right training and a bit of guidance, you could unlock your shikai easily." He smiled again, this time at the dumbstruck expression on Naruto's face. "And then all you need is a taichou witness. I believe I qualify in that respect."

The student just stood there for a moment, trying to wrap his head around Aizen's words.

"Aizen-taichou..." Finally a grin appeared. "Aizen-taichou!" Naruto moved so fast the world blurred, latching onto the Captain and hugging him tightly.

Aizen paused in surprise, then started to chuckle. "We'll start training tomorrow then."

Naruto pulled back, his eyes wide. "But the ceremony is tomorrow!" He looked at Aizen desperately. "I need to graduate!"

"Naruto-kun..." Aizen trailed off, then tried again. "Training is a matter of weeks, not hours."

Naruto's head bowed at the words and he loosened the grip on Aizen's haori a little. Silence hung over them.

"There's only one thing I can think of that has a remote chance of working, but its far too dangerous." Aizen shook his head. The Captain seemed to be speaking more to himself, but Naruto caught the words.

"I'll do anything to become a seated officer!" The blond stabbed a thumb into his own chest. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I'm not scared of anything!"

Aizen examined his face carefully. "Are you certain, Naruto-kun?"

"Sure thing! Who do you want me to fight? I'll kick their ass!"

Aizen smiled, and Naruto grinned back. "Very well. Come with me." The Captain turned and Naruto scrambled after him.

"Oi, Aizen-taichou!"

"Yes, Naruto-kun?"

The blonde had his arms behind his head as they walked. "Where're we going?"

The Captain hesitated a little before answering. "We're going to training ground forty four." Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion. "Forty four? I've never been there before."

"That is because it is usually only used by taichou and fukutaichou." Aizen turned another corner and Naruto ran a few steps to keep up with him.

"Seriously? You think I'm that good? I mean, I'm gonna be sotaichou one day, but no one ever believes me when I tell them." He wrinkled his nose. "It's really annoying, you know? No one listening or paying any attention to you."

"I can understand that feeling," Aizen said easily.

Naruto glanced up in surprise. "But…you're a _taichou_. People have to listen to you!"

"I wasn't always a taichou," Aizen pointed out. "Can you flash-step, Naruto-kun?"

The blond blinked at the change of subject and then frowned, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Uh…sort of. I can take big leaps…eheh, but I don't always end up going in the right direction."

A large hand pressed lightly on his shoulder and Naruto was treated to another one of those smiles. "I can steer you in the right direction, Naruto-kun. Once you get the hang of it, I'm sure you'll be able to do it on your own." The hand pushed him forward slightly and Naruto launched into a flash-step.

"Man, I haven't been to the Rukongai in seven years," Naruto remarked as they made their way out of the Seireitei. He looked around. "It never changes, does it?"

"Not so one would notice, no." Weird, how Naruto's impression of the guy was changing so fast. When he'd first seen Aizen, he'd thought he was sort of a geek. He still kind of thought that but he was a cool geek. Like Hanatorou, except way more powerful. "Seven years? What did you do in your spare time?"

Naruto shrugged. Difficult to do in midair with a hand on his back, but he managed. "Trained. I had to be with Rukia and Renji, right? Hey, wasn't Renji in your Division at first?"

"He was," Aizen affirmed. "However, he found himself…better suited to Eleventh. I believe the third seat, Madarame Ikkaku, has taken him under his wing."

"Whoa. A third seat? I haven't really talked to Renji since he graduated. He's probably busy or something, y'know? But damn. Renji's got a third seat and Rukia's got _two whole_ Captains." Naruto stumbled a little as they hit the ground outside a creepy looking forest.

"And now, Naruto-kun, you have myself."

Naruto looked up in surprise. "Really? I mean, you're gonna train me and everything, but--"

"As I said before, you have talent. It is a the duty of a taichou to take such talent under his wing." Aizen dropped a wink. _Definitely a geek_. "I think my colleagues will be jealous when I choose you for my Division tomorrow."

_But I was going to go for Eleventh…_Still, it wouldn't do any good to tell Aizen this, not when he was already doing so much for Naruto. "You really think I can do it?"

"Naruto." The man left off the suffix entirely, crouching slightly to look Naruto dead in the eye. "It's not a case of whether _I_ think you can do it, but rather if _you_ do." He straightened, gesturing out at the forest. "This is training ground forty four. Also known as the Forest of Death."

"Eh?"

"There are Hollows in there. Powerful, difficult to flush out, but completely fenced in by strong kidou. As taichou and fukutaichou are required to spend a great deal of time in the Seireitei looking after their Divisions, this is where they come to keep in shape."

Naruto eyed the forest dubiously. He'd never come across any really _powerful_ Hollows, just the small, incidental ones when he'd been learning how to perform the konso, and his instructor had quickly disposed of them anyway.

"Your zanpakutou hasn't responded to you because it hasn't been challenged," Aizen explained. "This exercise, while no doubt dangerous, cannot be considered anything but a challenge." A pause. "It's perfectly understandable if you are afraid, Naruto-kun. I cannot think of many Academy students who would wish to confront such a danger. Uchiha Sasuke, of course, but we can't all be--"

"Uzumaki Naruto isn't afraid of anything!" Naruto declared loudly, drawing his zanpakutou and flipping it in the air. "All right, Aizen-taichou, where are these Hollows? There won't be anything left of 'em when I'm through."

xXx

_This_, Naruto thought, slicing through one Hollow's mask only to spin and find another one bearing down on him, _may have been a bad idea. _He slid his finger into the loop of string at the hilt of his zanpakutou which he'd added the previous year in an attempt to fake his way into shikai, and let the tanto fly. He managed to get two off them before some weird tentacle thing grazed down his arm, shredding the skin. He cried out, gritting his teeth and glancing around desperately for Aizen.

The man was nowhere to be found. Naruto figured he must have been blocking his reiatsu or something so the Hollows couldn't sense him - Naruto couldn't actually tell, having absolutely no skill in that area.

He jerked the tanto back into his hand, thankful that even though the wound was painful, it oozed blood rather than spurted it. Wide, not deep. He hoped.

_:You know, this is really terribly boring.:_

_:Well maybe if you told me your name, it wouldn't be!: _Naruto wove recklessly around the outstretched tentacles of the Hollow who'd injured him and thrust the tanto savagely into it's mask, hoping like hell it hurt - the Hollow or the zanpakutou, he didn't really care which at this stage.

_:It's not my duty to tell you my name. It is yours to find out.:_

_:How do I find out if you won't tell me?: _he bemoaned, taking advantage of a brief respite in the onslaught of the beasts to catch his breath.

_:I am bored. Do something interesting.: _

Naruto growled with frustration, baring his teeth as he whirled around to stab at another Hollow. The uneasy, ominous presence in his gut stirred a little. In a corner of his inner world of trees, a tail flicked lazily.

_:Is that you?: _he asked hopefully, looking around once again for Aizen and catching a talon to his wounded shoulder for his trouble. He staggered, mouth falling open in a soundless cry of pain before he gripped his weapon tighter and killed the bastard. The problem that came with fighting with a tanto, he was quickly realising, was that they were designed for close ranged combat. That was all right when he was fighting other shinigami, but how often was he going to be doing _that? _Hollows were an entirely different story.

Orange flashed behind his eyes as the presence _uncurled_.

_:It's about time you showed up. I've been getting bored.: _The amused voice, however, was not directed at him this time.

_:Who are you talking to?: _Naruto demanded. Another injury, this to the back, and then another as out of the corner of his eye he spotted Aizen drawing his zanpakutou suddenly before becoming overwhelmed as even more Hollows filled the clearing.

A roaring filled Naruto's ears. He leapt into the fray with absolutely no regard for his own life as a monster fox, nine-tails whipping, ran through the trees of his mind, growing closer and closer to the village of his psyche--

Time froze for Naruto as a giant red coyote skidded onto the scene. It regarded the fox with one amused eye and lifted its muzzle, howling to treetops before it's tongue lolled out. It appeared to be _laughing_ at the monster fox, who snarled back.

_:Hmm. I believe things just got a little more exciting.: _And with those words, the coyote leapt at the fox, easily avoiding it's tails before sinking it's teeth into the monster's neck. _:Go back to your corner, Kyuubi, until you can come up with a new trick.:_

The scene shifted, and Naruto was standing on the top of a face carved into a mountain, overlooking a bustling village. The coyote, previously huge, had shrunk to the size one would expect a coyote to be. Naruto stared down at it as it sniffed at his hand and licked the palm.

_:Are you--:_

The coyote circled him, once. _:Interesting. Very interesting.:_

_:_What_ is?: _Naruto cried.

_:It's good to see you fighting for someone other than yourself, boy.:_

_:Well it's not like I've had that many people to fight _for_. Rukia and Renji can protect them - hey, ouch!_: The coyote's teeth closed around his hand, biting hard enough to hurt.

_:Don't make me change my mind, boy. Just remember. We fight for pack. We are nothing without the pack.: _There was a slight stab of pain as the teeth broke skin.

And then time returned and Naruto called out with more certainty than he'd ever felt before in his life--

"Bunsan shiyou!" _Disperse_. "Koyote!"

And his tanto, orange wrapped with the spiral tsuba, exploded into a mass of shuriken. They whirled out, partly directed by Naruto's will but mostly acting independently, forming small tornadoes of steel and slicing through the inundation of Hollows in the clearing of the Forest of Death. It wasn't skill that killed the Hollow, but rather the sheer amount of sharp edges for them to run into that did it.

"Aizen-taichou! Aizen-taichou, are you all right?" Naruto looked around wildly. The Hollows were gone, but so was the Captain.

"Naruto! Naruto-kun!" Aizen appeared abruptly in his peripheral vision. He was grinning widely, glasses slightly askew. "You've done it!"

"But--" Naruto glanced behind him. No Aizen. "You were just over there before! I saw you get attacked!"

Aizen blinked, confusion marring the happy look on his face. "Attacked? By these Hollows?" His tone of voice, although not unkind, showed just how unlikely he thought that was.

"I…" A group of rotating shuriken floated idly by and Naruto broke off, wide-eyed, to stare. A large grin broke over his face. "Is that--?"

"Shikai, Naruto-kun," Aizen said softly. "Welcome to the Gotei Thirteen."

For the second time that day, Naruto flung himself at the man. Aizen laughed, and this time hugged him back. "I'm in? I did it? I'm really in?"

"You're really in, Naruto-kun. I must say, I'm impressed. I was worried for a bit there that I would have to rescue you, but you pulled through in the end."

Naruto dropped his arms and stood back, gazing in awe at the shuriken swimming lazily through the air in easy spirals. "This," he announced. "is _so_ cool."

Aizen was looking contemplatively at the release. "You know, it's quite odd that you would have a release such as this, Naruto-kun."

"What? Really? Why?" Reluctantly, he decided it was probably a good idea to return Koyote to it's original state. He screwed up his face and--

_:Don't try. Just let me take care of it.:_

_:Wha?:_

The shuriken pulled together and reformed in his hand as the familiar old orange-wrapped tanto.

"Well, a tanto is better suited for close combat. These shuriken, however, are far better suited for long ranged attacks." In the distance, a Hollow screamed. A faintly worried frown crossed the Captain's face. "We'd best leave the forest before more Hollow come, Naruto-kun. You need to have your wounds tended to, and I'm more in the mood to celebrate than fight." The frown was smoothed away by another of those smiles. "I'm proud of you, Naruto-kun."

And even though it was a little strange to have a man he'd only known for about an hour say he was proud of him, Naruto glowed anyway.

It was the first time anyone had ever said it to him, and he had a feeling it wasn't going to be the last. Things were definitely looking up for Uzumaki Naruto.

"Oi, Aizen-taichou…" He dragged the word out as they flash stepped through the trees. This forest, creepy and dead, was nothing like his inner world.

"Hmm?"

"Why did I do shikai there where I couldn't yesterday?"

A slight pause. "I believe that you required a larger challenge. A life threatening ordeal, if you will. Something to shock your zanpakutou into realising how serious you are."

Naruto's hand throbbed suddenly, and he looked down in shock to see bite marks oozing sullently.

_:He's wrong.:_

_:Wha?:_

_:One of the other pack members already told you. The teacher, Iruka.:_

Naruto scrunched up his face, trying to remember what Iruka had said.

_:We have to fight together?:_

_:Exactly.:_

_:I don't _get_ it: _he whined. _:We were fighting together before!:_

_:No. You were fighting with me. There is a different. Iruka said that it has to be good for both of us. A coyote fights with pack, for pack. You were only fighting for yourself.:_

_:…Oh. That…makes sense. I guess. It wasn't my fault I didn't have anyone to fight for, though.:_

Koyote yawned. _:What does a coyote know about blame?:_

His wounded shoulder flared, and he grimaced, trying to resist the urge to scratch it. That weird presence in his gut, which had all but retreated, flicked a little and the burning stemmed as Aizen lead him out of the forest.

"All right, let's have a look at look at your--" Aizen broke off, frowning at Naruto's shoulder. "I could have sworn you were wounded just before."

"Eh?" Naruto glanced down at his shoulder and then twisted to look at his back. "Oh, that. Yeah, I'm a real fast healer. Comes from living in the Rukongai, y'know? You don't live long if you can't heal." He stretched, then winced at the pull on his wounds. "Uh, not that fast, I guess."

Aizen's eyebrows shot up. "That…must be the reason. It's still bleeding a little, I'll heal up the rest and then you can go home, all right?"

Naruto nodded. "Sure thing!"

The Captain worked in silence, the glow of kidou illuminating the surrounding area. Naruto finished, impatient to be gone. He had some cup ramen back in his barracks room that was calling his name. Fighting Hollows sure was hungry business.

"Right," Aizen said, straightening. "That should be--"

"Naruto?" Of all the things, Iruka's voice echoed out of the darkness. "Are you out here?"

Naruto opened his mouth to respond, but Aizen got there first as the Academy instructor's form became visible. "He's with me, Umino-san."

Naruto could _feel_ Iruka's frown.

"Aizen-taichou? Why--"

"Heyheyhey, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto overrode the teacher and leapt at him. "Guess what, guess what!" And then without waiting for him to even attempt it, Naruto told him. "I got shikai! My zanpakutou's name is Koyote! Isn't that awesome? Aren't _I_ awesome?'

"You have shikai?" Iruka repeated dumbly.

Naruto deflated a little. "Jeez, Iruka-sensei. I thought you'd be happy for me or something."

"What? Oh, I am!" A faint frown on his face was wiped away by a happy smile. "That really is fantastic, Naruto. I'm proud of you."

Two! Two in one day! Things were more than up, they were _sky-rocketing_.

"All right, I'm gonna go back to the barracks now," he announced, slinging Koyote into his sheath. "I'll see ya tomorrow, Iruka-sensei. At the _ceremony_." He started to run off and then skidded to a halt, remembering. "Oh! Thanks, Aizen-taichou. I'll never forget it!"

With a wave of his hand, he was off. And if he stopped to punch the air once or twice on the way, who the hell cared?

xXx

"Was there something you wanted, Umino-san?" Aizen asked politely. Iruka relaxed a little at the kind look on the man's face.

"I, well…you took him to the Forest of Death?" Iruka asked awkwardly. It wasn't his place to question a Captain, after all, but he was worried about Naruto.

"I have been watching Naruto for a while, Umino-san," the man replied reasonably, smiling at him. "His treatment at the hands of the rest of the Gotei has been appalling, and I believe the other students have picked up on the attitude. His placement in the Rukongai and the law against speaking of the Kyuubi was something I disagreed with, but I was merely a third seat at the time." The smile was gone now as Aizen shook his head. "He had the power. I merely wished to make something good happen for the boy for once. Training ground forty four gave that to him. I assure you, I was on standby at all times to ensure nothing serious happened to him."

Iruka thought about that. To be honest, it was good to see someone finally looking at Naruto for who he was, as opposed to what was inside him. "He really has shikai?"

The smile was back. "He really does. I was rather surprised at the form it took, but I believe Naruto will be a great asset to the Gotei Thirteen, as his parents were."

Iruka sighed, looking in the direction Naruto had disappeared in. "That's something I believe as well, Aizen-taichou. I just wish more people could see it."

xXx

_Oh, god._

Despite her determined thoughts about knowing where she'd be going – her family had been selected by the Second Division for generations – Yamanaka Ino had to admit she was still intimidated and more than a little nervous when placed under the scrutiny of the Captains. Especially the one that she hoped would be _her_ Captain, the terrifying-by-reputation Soi Fon. Nonetheless, when the dark haired woman stood before her, Ino stared right back, keeping her hands by her side and fighting the smirk that sometimes tugged at her lips when she was nervous.

From the corner of her eye she caught sight of Sakura's hand twitching a little, and then clenching into a fist. She was fighting the old habit of curling her fingers through her hair, something Ino remembered her doing when she was nervous.

What she _didn't_ know was how Uzumaki Naruto had miraculously made it into the line up, but she desperately wanted to. After his performance yesterday, it _had _to be a good story. That and Ino had always been taught that knowledge was power, and that if she wanted to make it into the Second Division then she'd better start learning as much as she could.

She didn't realize that she hadn't breathed since Soi Fon had begun scrutinizing her until the Captain, who was not much taller than Ino herself, moved away and the blonde became aware of her lungs protesting the lack of oxygen. Subtly, because she always tried to be subtle, Ino drew breath and was able to maintain a convincing air of calm as the other Captains moved down the row.

Finally the Captains exited the room and the silent anticipation that filled the room succumbed to excited whispering. Ino turned to the officer next to her. "What the hell did Uzumaki do to get in here?" The blonde's question was more like a demand, and Kiba shrugged in response.

"No idea. Probably something stupid though."

"I got passed fair and square, Sasuke!" Kiba and Ino turned at the sound of Naruto's indignant yell.

Sasuke sneered. "That's impossible. A few hours ago you didn't even know your zanpakutou's name." He pushed his dark hair out of his face. "You don't belong in here."

Ino barely contained a snort at the shade of red Naruto was turning. This was going to be very entertaining.

xXx

"There are ten officers available," Unohana Retsu began. In the absence of the Captain Commander, she had taken control. "To prevent any…incidents, like last year, if it absolutely cannot be decided which Division an officer is to enter, we will let them choose. If you miss out, you will simply have to promote a current member of your Division." She smiled. "Any problems with that?"

Every year there was fresh meat. Every year, the Captains squabbled over which Division got which new officers. _It is possibly the Gotei Thirteen at their least dignified, second only to when Shunsui hosts a party with unlimited supplies of sake._

"I don't want any of 'em." Kenpachi looked bored out of his mind. "None of 'em look like decent fighters t'me." With that, the tall man charged out of the room. Yachiru was teething, and Madarame had been bitching more than usual about her chewing on his head. It was usually better to give the kids quiet time.

_Well, that__'__s one less person to start arguments, at least. _Unohana calmly scanned the rest of the Captains.

"Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka. They're mine." Soi Fon's blunt statement came from somewhere towards the back of the group, although she was starting to push her way to the front.

"How come you get three of them?" Isshin's expression was tragic as Soi Fon shot him a dark look and pushed past. "You need to leave some for the rest of us to love and pull to our bosoms!" She gave him a scathing look. "Their families are always in Second, Isshin. It is my responsibility to keep them away from _you_." The Captain of the Second Division threw a challenging look around the room. "Anyone else want them?"

There was a low murmur and Soi Fon stood to the side smugly. She had the next generation of Ino-Shika-Cho. _Perfect. _Her vice-captain pushed himself off the wall to appear next to her, surrounded in his usual cloud of smoke. Her smirk turned into a scowl of irritation. "Put that out, Asuma."

He ignored her demand. "Planning on a newer, better Ino-Shika-Cho, Taicho?" The question was quiet, but Asuma's eyebrow was a little arched. Soi Fon resented the expression _and_ what it was really asking. _Trying to out-do Yoruichi again?_

Her response was to grab the cigarette from his mouth and extinguish it underfoot.

"I would like to request Uchiha Sasuke." Orochimaru's voice slithered from his mouth. "I think it is time the noble house broke away from the confines of Sixth." The Twelfth Division Captain's eyes narrowed with a smile as he turned his head to Kuchiki Byakuya. "Wouldn't you agree, Kuchiki-taichou?"

"I have no great interest in any of the officers at their current level," Byakuya replied evenly, his eyes briefly flicking over to Orochimaru. "The other captains are quite welcome to Uchiha Sasuke."

"Excellent." The older Captain looked incredibly pleased at Kuchiki's lack of interest.

"Actually," Aizen stepped forward. "I would also like to request Uchiha Sasuke." He smiled at the other Captain. "After all, Hatake-fukutaichou has sharingan. With no one from the house of Uchiha left to teach Sasuke-san, I think it would be in his best interests."

Kakashi waved from his corner, where he was happily slung into a chair and reading. "Yo."

Orochimaru smiled back, an expression which Kakashi had long ago decided he disliked.

"Of course, Aizen-taichou. The decline of the house of Uchiha makes it all the more important for family to stick together, don't you think?"

Aizen's jaw tensed a little and a silence fell over the room. Out of the corner of his eye, which was really keeping a constant watch on Matsumoto Rangiku, Kakashi caught the blonde woman aim a sharp kick to Ichimaru's ankle - especially impressive, he mused, considering he had been convinced she was asleep until this point. Apparently the woman could sense when Ichimaru was smirking, even if he wasn't looking at her.

"No point staying then, I suppose." Orochimaru stood and swept towards the same door Kenpachi had exited through earlier. Despite the smile, Kakashi was fairly sure the Twelfth Division Captain was fuming over Aizen's smooth interception of Sasuke. His eyes turned back to Rangiku again. Was she drooling?

He wasn't the only person who had noticed, apparently, as Ichimaru turned and smirked down at her. Kakashi watched as the other man wiped the drool away with his sleeve and a grin graced the totally-not-sleeping Rangiku's face as he laughed at her. The slouching shinigami looked down at his book. _Icha Icha Paradise_ was essential reading, after all.

Ichimaru tore himself away from snickering at Rangiku, who was somehow still insisting that she was asleep, and turned back to the other Captains who were still a little tense after Orochimaru's exit. "Ain't anyone going to go after Sakura-chan 'n Hinata-chan? They're so _cute_."

One of Rangiku's eyes cracked open and she delivered another kick to Ichimaru's ankle.

"Aw Ran-chan, ya bein' mean."

"And you're being gross. Stop it." The silver-haired Captain leaned over her with a smile, but Rangiku pushed him away with her foot. "Stop that. I'm sleeping."

"Ya not." He poked her cheek.

"I am."

"Ya _not_."

"I _am._"

The argument went on and Unohana sighed. _Haruno Sakura._ She considered the girl for a moment. Without a doubt she had the potential for healing and a considerable mastery of kidou. _But she's too valuable __to__ the battlefield._ Unohana interlaced her fingers and sighed gently._ The girl would have been perfect for Fourteenth though, and Tsunade would probably adore __her._ A slight frown tugged at Unohana's mouth. _Whereever Tsunade _is_ now. _The Captain shook her. Haruno Sakura wouldn't be in Fourth because she would be out of place, and Unohana wouldn't do that to the already awkward girl. Never mind that she reminded Unohana too much of her best friend around the time they had been taking_ their _officers exam.

"Why d'ya want Sakura-chan, Aizen?"

Unohana tuned back in to see Ichimaru and Matsumoto had stopped acting like children in the Rukongai, and Aizen was laying claim to another officer. To be fair, Fifth _was _in need of some new blood after several members transferred.

"I need members--" Aizen smiled benevolently at Gin, "--and her mastery of kidou was very impressive. Additionally, I would like to request officer Uzumaki Naruto."

Unohana felt her eyebrows raise slightly as her gaze shifted over to Ukitake. The white-haired man smiled at the other Captain. There were all sorts of smiles going on today, and Unohana wasn't sure who was sincere. _At least it's better than last year's fist fights._

"I would also like to request Uzumaki Naruto."

She heard Ichimaru muttering a question to Rangiku. "Should I be askin' fer this guy too?" The blonde woman laughed, shaking her head to show she had no idea.

"I must protest, Ukitake-taichou." Ah, Captain Kuchiki. Unohana's eyes rested on the younger man's unreadable face. He wasn't looking at her, of course, instead holding Ukitake's gaze. "I would ask you to reconsider."

"I might ask the same of you, Kuchiki-taichou." Ukitake's voice was incredibly soft. Silence fell again as he and Byakuya simply stared at one another. Neither man backed down.

"Additionally--" Ukitake added, his voice brighter but still refusing to break eye contact with Kuchiki, "--I would like to request Hyuuga Hinata."

Gin's smile flopped. "Everyone's stealin' my girls!"

Aizen turned to him. "Here, I'll make you a deal, Gin. If Sakura chooses Fifth, I'll give you my Kira Izuru to make up for it." The Captain adjusted his glasses as Gin nodded back, his smile back in place.

Rangiku rolled her eyes._ Gin and his toys…_

xXx

Iruka had been summoned into the room after the final decisions concerning what officers would go into which Division had been made. He glanced around as he entered the room, doing so with a slight air of caution. Sometimes the Captains had quite the temper when it came to new Division members, but he couldn't see any broken furniture this time and Zaraki seemed to have disappeared. In fact, Iruka noted, quite a few Captains seemed to have exited already, and some had not even bothered coming. _Captain Jiraiya__,_ he thought with some disapproval, shaking his head.

"Here's the list, Iruka." Unohana caught his attention, and Iruka took the document she was holding out to him.

"Thank you, Unohana-taichou. Shall I bring them in?"

The Captain nodded and Iruka moved back to the door. As it opened a rush of excited murmuring could be heard, followed by a hurried silence. "New officers, the taichou and fukutaichou of the Gotei Thirteen request your presence." _Or, at least some of them do._

He smiled at his former students as they filed into the room, noting Sasuke and Naruto's rather un-subtle glares of dislike at one another. _No change, then._

The Captains who had remained stood in a row, some with their vices leaning against the wall behind them. Or, in Rangiku's case, sleeping against the wall. Iruka shook his head with amusement as he scratched the scar on his nose, waiting for the students to stand opposite the Captains before he began reading out the list.

The first two on the list didn't have choices - Aburame Shino went to Tenth, Akimichi Chouji to Second. Iruka smiled to them both as they went to their respective Divisions, silently wishing them luck before his eyes returned to the list.

"Haruno Sakura, Third Division or Fifth Division."

The pink haired girl stepped forward. She looked nervously over at Ichimaru, who smiled and waved, and then over to Aizen. Sakura quickly headed over to Aizen, the less intimidating of the two, and Iruka could have sworn Rangiku snorted. He glanced over at her, only to see she was still asleep. _It must have been a snore._

"Hyuuga Hinata, Third Division or Thirteenth Division."

The shy girl's fingers were twisting around one another as she clenched her hands together anxiously. Ichimaru smiled a little wider this time, to no avail. Hinata looked terrified, and her eyes flashed over to Ukitake, who appeared much friendlier by comparison. She edged over to the white-haired Captain, who greeted her with a friendly smile and twinkling eyes, and the girl relaxed a little. Ichimaru's face fell at the loss of both girls and this time Iruka arched his eyebrow at Rangiku, who looked like she was shaking with suppressed laughter.

"Inuzuka Kiba, Tenth Division. No other choices."

xXx

"Hah! Eat that, dog-breath!" Uzumaki called, laughing as Kiba's face fell about a thousand miles. It was _then_ that Kiba noticed Zaraki hadn't even showed up. He wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse, but he didn't have time to dwell on it as a loud voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Rangiku-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan! Look at our new recruit! Doesn't he look so eager to - Rangiku-chan, wake _up!_"

Kiba's face, if possible, fell even further as he slouched over to the overexcited Captain Isshin of Tenth Division. The man, for whatever reason, had no last name.

"Taichou," the woman next him slurred sleepily. "You're so _annoying_."

"But our recruit! Inuzuka Kiba! He has a dog, it's like getting two for the price of one!"

Behind him, Uzumaki was pissing himself. At least until the woman slumped against Isshin's shoulder yawned, stretching lazily and brushing her shoulder-length blonde hair out of her eyes. _Jeez. You could knock a man out at ten paces with those things._

Torn between a crazy Captain and the biggest boobs he'd seen in his life, Kiba wasn't sure whether or not to be horrified or elated. A delicate hand rested on shoulder as he reached the leaders of his new Division. Cool crystal eyes pinned him to the spot, and he gulped, wondering if this woman could read minds.

Then the look softened and the woman grinned. "Don't worry about taichou. He's usually only half this weird - you should be glad that the last fukutaichou retired to teach at the Academy." She shuddered lightly and Kiba struggled to keep his eyes on her face. "Isshin and Maito Gai? The races were _endless_. And the shouting was enough to raise even the most determined girl from her beauty sleep."

Kiba grinned back, hoping like hell that was the right response. The hand on his shoulder may have _looked_ delicate, but he had the feeling that it could snap his neck with a simple flick if it's owner wanted to.

He glanced over at his fellow Tenth Division member, Aburame Shino. The guy was being spared, or deprived depending how you looked at it, the possibly dangerously close proximity to Rangiku's breasts and was taking in his Captain with utter calm. Kiba's eyes traveled over to Isshin, who was now doing some sort of terrible dance. _How exactly does a person stay calm when they see that?_

He looked back at the line, realizing he had missed where Nara had gone. A quick glance revealed the guy lazily strolling towards Second and a tiny but terrifying looking woman. _Bet she'll make Nara jump._ Kiba grinned to himself and was aware of Akamaru wagging his tail. The blonde woman was now scratching the dog's head with one hand, and the hand that hand been resting on his shoulder replaced by an arm slung around it. Akamaru was happy, and Kiba was next to giant breasts... _Maybe Tenth won't be so bad after all._

xXx

"Uchiha Sasuke, Fifth Division. No other choices." The dark haired officer had stepped forward, but gave a double take when he absorbed the words. Iruka glanced down at the document in case he made a mistake. _No, definitely Fifth._ He looked with concern at Sasuke, who was stiffly making his way over to Aizen. The Captain smiled at Sasuke, but the young Uchiha's jaw was tight. He was clearly furious.

_Not surprising. His family has always gone to Sixth. _And then there was Aizen's tie to the Uchiha clan that was usually left unmentioned. Iruka decided rather prudently not to go there.

Naruto's face fell when he realized Sakura and Sasuke were in the same Division, and at Sakura's expression of total delight. He swore under his breath, but jumped forward when Iruka said his name. "... Fifth Division or Thirteenth Division."

"Eh?"

_I have choices? _He did a double take that he wouldn't admit was similar to Sasuke's_. Of course I have choices. I'm Uzumaki Naruto!_

He looked at the two Captains. _Aizen-taichou!_ He grinned at the man, and then looked over to another Captain with long white hair. _Oh, Hinata-chan's in that Division. _He missed the blush on the girl's face and the way she glanced at the floor, because he was staring at the man who had been at the examinations and trying to remember why he seemed familiar.

_Must just be the exams. _Naruto shrugged to himself and flashed a thumbs up at Captain Aizen before bounding over to him. There was no competition - Aizen had helped him get shikai and Sakura was in his division, which _more_ than made up for Sasuke-Bastard being there.

"Aizen-taichou! Sakura-chan!" He simply glared at Sasuke, who returned the sentiment.

xXx

"Yamada Hanatorou, Fourth Division. No other choices." The boy almost fell over with relief as he made his way towards Unohana-taicho, as if he'd been worried no one would select him. Iruka caught sight of a shy smile from Hanatorou when Naruto punched his fist into the air. "Way to go, Hanatorou!"

_Ah, last one._

"Yamanaka Ino, Second Division. No other choices." Iruka watched as the blonde girl stepped forward confidently and made her way towards Second. He caught Soi Fon's eye and smiled when the woman nodded back. She looked pleased to have three new members. _I'm glad._

"Congratulations, Officers." Iruka smiled to his former students. _They'll all do well._

xXx

"Gin!" Rangiku appeared next to the silver-haired Captain and flopped against his side, smirking up at him. "Sorry you didn't get the girls."

She wasn't sorry, at all. In fact, she thought it was hilarious. Her friend just shrugged back at her, pushing her off him. He had a new officer to tease in the form of Kira Izuru, so he wasn't too bothered by the loss.

Rangiku pouted at her friend's lack of reaction before looking down the row towards the blonde girl who had been called last. "How come you didn't request her too?" Her eyes went back to Gin. "Since you like the cute ones so much."

"She's _scary_, Ran-chan!" His response made her laugh. "Too similar ta you, tha' one."

This time her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Similar to me? How so?" The blonde Vice-Captain looked back at the girl, in time to see her smacking a dark haired boy upside the head.

"Ah. Good technique." Rangiku nodded her approval. "Nice flick of the wrist at the end there." She took a couple of steps towards her Captain and imitated the slap she had seen Ino execute. Gin didn't bother to hide his laughter.

"Rangiku-chan!" Isshin cried out, mortified. "What did I do?" He was cradling his head in his hands and had dropped to both knees. Rangiku simply arched a perfect eyebrow at him.

"You had to have done something in the minute I was away."

Her eyes slid to Kakashi for a moment as she turned around. The other vice-captain was doing an exemplary job of ignoring his new recruits, contentedly reading his little orange book while the two boys glared at each other and the girl with pink hair spoke to Aizen, an adoring smile already on her face. _He's going to have fun with those three_, she grinned to herself, before making her way down the row of Captains and officers.

xXx

Ino almost jumped when an arm appeared around her shoulders, but she managed to restrain herself. _Subtle, Yamanaka. Subtle._

"Hi!" A brief glance revealed a jubilant blonde woman next to her. "I just wanted to congratulate you on that excellent slapping technique there. It really resounds."

"Uh... thanks?" The younger girl was a little confused, blindsided by giant breasts and a compliment to the way she had slapped Shikamaru. _It _was_ pretty good..._

The woman turned, taking Ino with her and raising a hand at the Captain a few groups away. The man cowered.

Ino looked up at the taller woman who was grinning down at her.

"I'm Rangiku," the vice-captain offered. "Fukutaichou of Tenth Division."

Ino gave a smile back. The woman next to her was clearly amazing, although she quite wasn't sure why. "Yamanaka Ino."

"Oh, a Yamanaka! Heh. I think we're going to have a _lot_ of fun, Ino." The woman stretched, and dropped a wink. "Welcome to the Gotei Thirteen."

xXx

_Whoa. Final word count is nearly 8000. So much for our 6000 word count limit, lol._

_Thanks for reading! Bella and I hope you enjoy, and drop us a note to tell us what you think :D_


	4. Chapter 3

_:Diez:_

_Longest. Chapter. Ever. I was meant to be off an hour ago, so I don't have time to say anything except thank you for the reviews! Oh, and to all of you who requested Captain clarification, I hope you like what we did :D_

xXx

Kakashi looked on with growing dread as his Captain struggled to deal with their three new seated members. From what he'd been able to gather, Uchiha had snarked something about Uzu - _Naruto - _being Twentieth seat, Naruto had blown up (as, Kakashi was realising, he was wont to do) and Haruno had quickly jumped to Uchiha's defence.

Usually, Kakashi wouldn't care. Usually, however, Captain Aizen wasn't wearing that vaguely confused frown that meant he was actually starting to get pissed off. Usually, Kakashi wasn't getting the feeling that he was about to get dumped with one huge annoyance.

"Hatake-kun?"

Or three. As it were.

Kakashi sighed and shut his book with a snap. "Yes, taichou?"

"I have something urgent to attend to." _Urgent like a migraine, sir? _"Could you take over from me here?"

Kakashi gave his Captain a flat, one-eyed stare. "No."

The expression on Aizen's face became vaguely pleading as Haruno punched Naruto in the face. "It really is urgent, Hatake-fukutaichou."

The vice-captain perked up a little at the use of his proper title before deflating abruptly, realising the con for what it was. "Nice try. But I don't do kids. Especially not that kid."

Aizen's face softened and Kakashi just about kicked himself.

"Kush--"

Kakashi straightened and tucked his book away. "Never mind. I'll do it." _Che. Way to not look suspicious, Hatake._

Aizen still looked worried. "Hatake-kun…"

"I'll train them."

Kakashi paused and thought about that. Aizen hadn't actually said that he wanted them trained, only that he wanted Kakashi to look after them for the afternoon. Presumably all he'd had to do was introduce the brats to the Division.

…_Why, brain, why? Words, why do I use them?_

Aizen gave him a grateful smile, and Kakashi felt a bit less resentful. At least, up until he heard the rasp of steel being drawn from the general direction of the kids.

"Thank you, Hatake-kun." Having got what he wanted, Kakashi noticed, the man had gone back to the informal honorific. He rolled his eyes as the man walked off.

Kakashi loved his Captain, really. He just didn't _like_ him all that much sometimes. With a sigh, he gave up on squirming out of this one and flash-stepped over to the brats, wresting the zanpakutou off all three of them.

"Sit," he ordered. He wasn't particularly surprised when this order wasn't followed.

"Hey!" Naruto. Of course it was Naruto. "Give those back. Well," he amended. "Koyote and Sakura's, at least. You can keep the bastard's."

"Moron," Uchiha muttered.

"Teme!"

_:How quickly do you think we can get rid of them?:_

_:Shut up. You're not helping:_

Shirokarasu cawed impatiently, spreading huge white wings and flapping them irritably once or twice. The dead branch he rested on creaked as he moved.

_:Don't be so easy-going.:_

_:Don't be so impatient.:_

Naruto and Uchiha were glaring daggers at each other while Haruno looked on. Kakashi peered at her, a little concerned about the twitch that had developed in her eye.

"Naruto!" she finally yelled, slapping the kid over the head. Kakashi choked on a laugh at the look of utter shock on the boy's face.

_Same look, different person._

"Hatake-fukutaichou is _waiting_ for you to _shut up_ so he can teach us! So shut up!"

Naruto rubbed at his head, looking pouty. "Sakura-chan…he started it!"

"Moron," Uchiha repeated, and the whole cycle started again.

Kakashi rolled his eyes and gave up, walking away with their zanpakutou in hand. Hopefully they wouldn't notice his disappearance for a while.

He pulled out _Icha Icha_ and began to read.

"H-Hatake-fukutaichou?" Haruno stuttered. "Where are you going with our zanpakutou?"

Kakashi blinked, cursing under his breath. _Reiatsu. There was something about her sensing reiatsu. Idiot. _He turned and tossed the weapons back to their respective owners – they weren't exactly difficult to tell apart. Kakashi worked very hard at ignoring the familiar shape of the tanto as he returned to _Icha Icha._

"Sorry," he replied succinctly and started walking again.

"It is the duty of the taichou to give new recruits their assignments," Uchiha said tonelessly. Haruno had Naruto in a headlock to stop the kid from leaping at him.

Kakashi paused. "You don't want to know where you sleep?" he asked, pretending to be surprised. Sleep was probably the last thing on that brat's mind. "And in case you haven't noticed, Aizen-taichou had something urgent to attend to and isn't here. Also, that's the way things work in Sixth. Here, things are different." Sometimes, Kakashi wished they really weren't. The way Sixth did things sounded much more relaxing. Seeing as the way Sixth did things meant that he wouldn't have to be involved.

"Um…then how _are_ things done here, Hatake-fukutaichou?" Haruno asked.

If Kakashi had given a damn, the stony glare Uchiha was directing at him might have had him worried. As it was, he merely wilted a little, realising that there really was no mistake. Aizen would give him the confused, disappointed look that always made Kakashi feel ridiculously guilty. "All right, sit down."

"In the _dirt?_" Haruno. Of course it was Haruno.

"In the dirt," he affirmed. "You, in the middle."

Haruno looked like she was torn between being ecstatic at sitting next to Uchiha or horrified at being by Naruto.

"Right, so, names." Never mind that he already knew them. "Likes and dislikes and, uh…" He cast about for something to keep them busy. "Dreams. Names and dreams. And likes and dislikes." He pointed at Haruno. "You first."

"Oioioi, shouldn't you tell us about yourself first?" Naruto demanded, peering at him suspiciously.

Kakashi smiled in a completely insincere manner and brushed off the sense of déjà vu. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. You can call me Hatake or Kakashi, I don't mind, just don't tack a -kun onto the end of it. I have no interest in telling you about my likes and dislikes, and as for dreams…I have a few hobbies."

"So all we learnt was your name?" Haruno muttered.

"Me! Me!" Naruto exclaimed. "I…like cup ramen! And I dislike…waiting for the cup ramen to heat up!"

"Hn. Dobe."

"Teme!"

"And your dream?" Kakashi interrupted hastily, not willing to put up with another screaming match.

"Oh! Right. That's easy. My dream is to become the sotaichou, and have the Seireitei recognise me! And, well, it'd be nice to have Rukia-chan speaking to me again, but that's not really a dream."

_:He's grown up in an interesting way.:_

_:Yes, but does he ever stop talking?:_

_:You're no help.:_

"And as for hobbies, I guess I like pranks."

"Right." He turned to the Uchiha. "And you?"

"Hn." Uchiha studiously ignored his companions. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like many things, and there are few things I care enough about to like. My dream…I don't have a dream. I have an ambition."

_:Here we go.:_

Shirokarasu didn't bother to respond except to flap his wings once or twice. The giant white crow had expounded on the Uchiha massacre time and time again until the subject lost all interest to him. Thank god.

"My ambition is to resurrect my clan. And to kill a certain man."

_Three guesses who and the first two don't count._

"So _cool_," Haruno whispered. Kakashi fought the urge to hurt her.

"Okay…so, lastly, the girl." Kakashi had the feeling that his comment was vaguely sexist and that if Rangiku were there she would hit him for it, but Rangiku wasn't there. So he was good.

Haruno beamed in a vaguely suck-up manner. "My name is Haruno Sakura and the thing - the person I like is--" She glanced at Uchiha in a meaningful way. He ignored her. "Well, my dream for the future is…oh!"

Uchiha very carefully concentrated on not looking at her.

"Hmm. The thing I _don't_ like is Naruto."

The blond visibly wilted.

"And my hobby is…" She gave what Kakashi was sure she thought was a seductive look to Uchiha. Kakashi just thought she looked mildly constipated.

_Why couldn't it be the Hyuuga girl? Or Kuchiki Rukia? I'm going to murder Shiba in his sleep._

"Good to see you've all got goals, then," he commented. "Uh…seated barracks are over there." He seemed to be doing more pointing than usual. Then again, he never had been the pointing type. "You get a room to yourself, presumably because you'll have more work. Don't get excited; at this level, there's really not that much difference between you. There will be people above you who have less power than you. Don't challenge them, they'll kick your ass. Reiatsu isn't everything." He returned to _Icha Icha _and yawned. "Looks like you've been dumped on me for now. Uh…meet here tomorrow, I guess."

He made to leave. Naruto and Uchiha were glaring at each other and Kakashi wanted to get the hell out before he was the one who had to deal with it.

"Um, Kakashi-fukutaichou?" Haruno ventured.

He stopped, wishing he knew another language so he could swear in it.

"What time tomorrow?"

_Oh. That…actually makes sense._

"Twelve-ish. Bring lunch."

_What the hell am I going to do with these brats?_

xXx

Dust rose as Ino rolled onto her back.

_Ow. God, ow._

"What do you call that, Yamanaka?" The blonde groaned internally as her new Captain took a few steps towards her, becoming visible through the dust cloud. "Get up." The Captain regarded her with displeasure before turning away and heading towards Shikamaru.

Ino cast a dark look at Soi Fon's back as she dragged herself back to her feet, white-wrapped katana tightly in hand.

_:Calm down.: _

She rolled her eyes at the voice of her zapukatou. _:I am calm!: _

_:__I'm so sure__.:_

_:Shut up, Touhito: _The blonde growled her response as she paced moodily back to the others. She, Shikamaru and Chouji had been training with Captain Soi Fon for the better part of an hour. As a result, her first day as nineteenth seated officer of Second Division was proving to be hellish.

"You need to work together," Soi Fon told them again. "Your fathers all worked together to form an incredible team." Her sharp eyes flashed over each of them. Ino straightened her back despite her irritation and wished Shikamaru would at least _try_ not to look so bored. Chouji was leaning heavily on his tachi as Soi Fon moved to him and she barely concealed her disdain for the three of them.

_Way to express your faith in our abilities there, taichou,_ Ino snarked internally, aware of a gentle sigh from Touhito who was grateful that she had resisted the urge to mutter aloud.

"Sarutobi!" The tiny woman's voice rang out. A tall man who had been observing strolled onto the training ground, pulling out a cigarette as he approached.

"You called, Soi Fon-taichou?" He spoke through a cloud of smoke as he ignited the cigarette. With the dust and now the smoke, Ino wondered if the other's eyes were in peril of watering too.

_:Great. Then she'll think I'm a cry__-__baby with Haruno. Perfect.:_

_:I don't think she is as cruel as you suppose.: _The blonde was aware of Touhito's form shifting, feathers beginning to spread over the man's chest, his feet contorting into the talons of a falcon. _:I suspect that she genuinely wants you to succeed with an intense passion.:_

_:Yeah, well. __Whatever__:_

"I have other business to attend to," Soi Fon addressed Sarutobi bluntly. "Take over for the rest of the day." The dark haired woman threw another glance at the trio before striding out of the training area. Ino let out a sigh of relief despite herself, her folded arms dropping to rest on her hips.

"So..." The man Soi Fon had left in charge scratched his beard awkwardly as the trio stared at him. "Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, right?" He pointed to each of them as he said their names and the bedraggled group nodded, Ino not particularly regretting her lack of enthusiasm.

"I'm Asuma." There was a slight pause as he exhaled a stream of smoke. "To be honest, you all look pretty tired, and I don't really feel like making you do something you don't want to do today." He flicked his cigarette and ash fell to the ground. "And I'm hungry."

A smirk tugged at Ino's lips as a sympathetic growl escaped from Chouji's stomach.

"So I've got a proposal for you. How about we go get some barbeque? We can have a chat about training techniques and tell taichou we had a real constructive session." Asuma offered a smile as the three young officers sighed with relief and sheathed their zanpukatou.

_Maybe this won't be so bad after all__._ Ino grinned to herself as she followed Asuma, dusting herself off and readjusting her ponytail happily.

xXx

"Taichou. Put them down." Rangiku felt vaguely as if she was chiding a hyperactive kid. Or perhaps a large puppy. "You're scaring them."

Isshin raised his hands in the air, a recruit dangling from each one. The kid with the glasses seemed to be putting up with it with remarkable fortitude – he'd do well in Tenth, where most everyone was used to ignoring their Captain's moods. The other kid was struggling and yelling, holding onto his dog for dear life, and Rangiku figured that he'd probably slide right in with the Captain. He liked kids with guts.

"But Rangiku! They are our recruits, we must hug them to our bosoms and—"

Right, it was time to bring out the big guns. Rangiku employed the technique she'd seen Yamanaka use with the dark-haired brat and smirked as he yelped, dropping the kids into an ungraceful heap on the ground.

"Rangiku-chaaaaaaaan!" he moaned, tears shining melodramatically in his eyes. She gave him a wink to appease him and then crouched down so she was on level with the recruits, amused at the way the kid with the dog was struggling to keep his eyes on her face.

"Inuzuka Kiba, right?" she asked, cocking her head to the side with a large smile. "And Aburame Shino?"

The received a sharp nod from the latter before the former remembered that introductions actually required him to _say_ something.

"Oh, uh…yeah. Inuzuka Kiba, that's me." He grinned, a little shakily. "And this is Akamaru."

"Good." And in one fluid movement, Rangiku stood, drawing Haineko and with a whisper of steel, slicing a lock of hair off of each of them. "If you survive the afternoon, I may remember that."

The boys scrambled to their feet, dog-boy turning instantly to the Captain for rescue as they drew their zanpakutou in return.

_Hmm. Good reflexes, at least. _Several times Rangiku had pulled this trick and received blank stares followed by dramatic screams of agony as she gave the recruits a small cut across the gut.

Isshin raised his hands in a '_what can you do?'_ gesture at the boys. It would have even been convincing if Rangiku hadn't known this was all his idea.

"You'll find we do things differently here in Tenth," she told them, amused, as she parried both of their offensive strokes. Glasses-guy had good form and less power, whereas dog-boy was the complete opposite. The former was more useful, but dog-boy had a kidou familiar to back him up.

The boys broke off, eying her warily, and Rangiku took the time to stretch indolently. This would be an interesting afternoon, at least.

xXx

If she was totally honest, Hinata was flummoxed.

She'd arrived at the headquarters for Thirteenth Division about thirty minutes earlier and nervously found a seat as she waited for the arrival of Ukitake-taichou. Hinata could only have been sitting for five minutes when she heard laughter, and two figures came through the same door that she had entered through. One was a tall man with dark spiky hair, the second a shorter woman.

Hinata's pale eyes widened with recognition. _Kuchiki-sama!_ _Shiba-sama!_

The previous evening her father had strictly reminded her of the privilege of being in the same house as several members of the higher ranking noble houses. The message had gone unspoken; make connections.

When the tall man spotted Hinata he flashed her a grin as he and Kuchiki Rukia made their way over. "You must be the new recruit! I'm the fukutaichou, Shiba Kaien." He jerked a thumb in the other girls direction. "This is Rukia. She does my paperwork."

"Kaien-dono!" Rukia laughed, batting him with a small hand before turning to smile at Hinata.

"Kuchiki Rukia." She offered a hand, which Hinata took with a shy smile.

"Hyuuga Hinata."

Kaien somehow pulled her up and spun her around so that he had an arm wrapped around her shoulders, his other around Rukia's. "Nice to meet you, Hinata-chan!" He grinned again and directed the girls towards another set of sliding doors.

They'd walked through the doors, where Kaien had entertained them for a few minutes before excusing himself to grab ramen with his wife, Miyako. Since then, Hinata had been sitting with Rukia and talking. What had started as a discussion of the different Captains and vice-captain's had lead to her realization of her total confusion over who-ran-what, and now she was sitting next to Rukia who was gleefully wielding a range of markers.

"So, Yamamoto-sotaichouu is the lizard?"

"No, Hinata-san." Rukia pointed to a stream of orange next to the creature's head. "A dragon! Because he's all old and fiery."

The Hyuuga stared at the page and suddenly wished that she could use her Byakugan to identify what it was exactly that Rukia was drawing. "A-and next to him is... a goldfish, Rukia-sama?"

"Yes!" Rukia smiled, pleased, as she moved onto the next sketch. "I can't tell you his name because I can't remember it, but no one ever does, so that's why he's a goldfish."

Hinata nodded, trying to commit the information to memory. The girl next to her dropped the orange pen she was holding, her hand darting over to grab two new colours – black and yellow. A scrawled oval appeared on the page and was rapidly filled with yellow and black stripes. "This is Soi Fon-taichou of Second Division." She dropped the yellow pen and a cloud appeared next to what Hinata deduced was meant to be a bumble bee.

"Is that because she's so small?"

"No. Well, yes, but also fast and--_" _Rukia glanced over her shoulder although there was no one else in the room, "--sting-y. She gets offended very easily." She brushed some hair that had fallen across her face out of the way and went to reach across Hinata for another pen before pausing.

Awkwardly, Rukia straightened herself and the atmosphere changed as she seemed to remember something.

"Uhm, Hinata-san?" The Hyuuga heard a change in Rukia's tone. Less relaxed, more coutious. Hinata's heart sank. What had she done?

"Yes, Kuchiki-sama?"

"Could you possibly pass me the gray?"

"Of course." Hinata carefully picked up the box of pens and passed it closer to the other noblewoman, pulling out the gray to hand it to Rukia.

"Thank you." The Kuchiki had a slight blush on her face as Hinata handed her the pen. She didn't meet her eyes, instead moving straight into the next drawing. The other girl cocked her head to the side a little, wondering what was bothering her Division mate.

Rukia scribbled a little more with her pen and Hinata's eyes slipped to the page.

_A cloud? _Confusion took over her features. _A cloud with legs?_

"This is Second's fukutaichou, Sarutobi Asuma." Rukia pointed at the cloud-shaped... thing. "I was going to make him a big cloud of smoke, but then it kind of looked like a sheep."

There was a brief pause before another animal appeared on the page, a mess of red that was only recognizable by its white-tipped tail. The animal taking shape next to it was completely beyond her, although Hinata couldn't quite repress a smile at the horrendously over-sized teeth and the strings of drool pooling next to it.

"That's Ichimaru-taichou--" Rukia pointed to the fox with her pen. "-- just because he looks like one and seems kind of..." She cut herself off. "He just seems cunning," Rukia concluded quietly. She glanced at Hinata, who nodded her understanding. The man had wanted her in his Division, and just the _look_ he'd given her was terrifying.

"The hyena," Rukia continued, compelling the other girl to re-examine the picture. "She's Mitarashi-fukutaichou." The artist leaned a little closer to Hinata and dropped her voice a little. The awkward atmosphere dissipated a little. "Mitarashi Anko. She's frightening and kind of crazy. _Hyena._"

Hinata smiled again. The girl next to her was nothing like the Kuchiki Rukia she'd heard about, the Kuchiki Rukia she had _seen_. That Kuchiki Rukia was cold and aloof and made cutting remarks. But while this girl sitting next to her may have been a little stiff and confusing, she was also friendly and kind and was drawing her a diagram so she could memorize members of the Gotei Thirteen. She cast a curious glance at Rukia. Between her and Shiba-fukutaichou, they were easily the most lively nobles she'd ever encountered, and she wondered briefly why her own family weren't more like them. Rukia had become a little more withdrawn since Shiba-fukutaichou had left though, and Hinata felt a twinge of sympathy.

"Thank you for making this for me, Kuchiki-sama."

The other girl almost double took. "Y-you're welcome, Hinata-san." She looked distinctly uncomfortable though, and the realization made Hinata a little sad. _Am I making her uncomfortable?_

"A bear, Kuchiki-sama?" The pale-eyed girl was guessing based on the triangles sticking out of the paws of the new animal appearing on the page, so she could be completely wrong, but this was turning out to be far more fun than she'd expected.

"Yes!" Rukia beamed. "Because Unohana-taichou is a mother bear!" She paused for a moment. "Rukia-san, if you please, Hinata-san."

Hinata stared, before realising it was rude. No wonder the girl was so awkward; she had no idea of social conventions whatsoever! Even if Hinata was seated higher than Rukia (it had shocked her to find out the girl wasn't seated at all), it was quite impossible for her to be so casual with a higher noble.

She carefully placed the black pen down and picked up a green one, before putting it down again. "What colour do you think would suit Isane-fukutaichou?"

"Uh," Hinata hesitated for a moment before grabbing a light blue pen and passing it to Rukia. "Why is she a fish, Kuchiki--" She blushed as Rukia glanced at her and she caught herself. "Rukia-sama?"

Grinning, Rukia coloured in the little fish on the page. "I heard her telling someone about a nightmare she had about fish one time. And bears and fish go together!"

Hinata didn't have the heart to remind Rukia that fish were bears prey.

Rukia wrote the names under all the respective pictures. "Fifth!" She paused for a moment to think and grabbed another pen, this time brown. "Aizen-taichou is the one who wears glasses, right?"

Hinata nodded a silent response.

"So he's an owl." Rukia set to colouring with a flourish.

"I know Aizen-sama," Hinata smiled gently. "Naruto-kun is in his Division."

Rukia stopped drawing, but didn't look up from the page. If she wasn't Kuchiki Rukia, Hinata might have thought that she hesitated. Finally the other girl spoke.

"How is Naruto?" Her voice had dropped to a hushed tone. Hinata blinked and thought for a moment before answering.

"I... did not know you were familiar with Naruto-kun, Rukia-sama," she replied carefully.

That was a lie. Of course Hinata knew Rukia and Naruto were familiar. When she and Naruto were in the same class at the Academy, all he would talk about was growing up with Rukia and Renji, and how important they were to him. But she had also seen how Rukia ignored Naruto in public.

"We were very close," Rukia replied softly, gently pressing her pen back to the paper. "Unfortunately we move in different circles now."

Hinata ducked her head as she absorbed the new information. "He is doing very well," she responded. "He was very excited when Aizen-taichou picked him."

Rukia smiled at the news. "Good."

There was a brief pause before she selected a new pen. "Now, Hatake-fukutaichou." She was a little more energetic again. "Kaien-dono always says that Hatake-fukutaichou is the laziest person he knows." Rukia grinned at Hinata, who returned the smile. "Sloth!"

An animal with long arms appeared on the page. Hinata remembered the man from the previous evening, and when a thought occurred to her she hesitantly reached for a black marker. Rukia spotted her movement and shifted the paper so that Hinata could add her own touch – a mask covering part of its face.

"Perfect, Hinata-san! We have to show this to Kaien-dono when he gets back."

Hinata blushed at the praise and Rukia turned back to their masterpiece. "Sixth division is Nii-sama." Rukia just stared at the page for a moment. "We... can come back to him." She labelled the designated space "Kuchiki-taichou" before moving on. "His fukutaichou is Gekko Hayate." The girl leaned a little closer to Hinata and her voice dropped to a quieter tone again. "He's sick a lot, like Ukitake-taichou, but he's very nice." She paused. "I think he gets tired."

With that thought in mind, Rukia grabbed a black pen. Based on the big black circles that were appearing around the animal's eyes, Hinata deduced that Gekko-fukutaichou would be represented by a panda. This time Hinata sketched in a little bamboo stalk – a little less tentatively than before, but still glancing over to Rukia to make sure such a thing was acceptable. She was met with a happy smile.

"Jiraiya-taichou is in charge of Seventh, but..." Rukia trailed off a little as she put a hand to Hinata's ear. "...I hear he's kind of a pervert." A blush shot to Hinata's face as Rukia pulled away. The artist was biting thoughtfully on a pen. "I think Miyako-san said something about him and toads one time." A green pen found its way to the paper, and then a black one as Rukia finished with the toad and started on a fly next to it.

"Does he eat a lot, Rukia-sama?"

"Eh?" The girl looked at Hinata with some confusion. "I have no idea."

"Oh." The blush stayed on Hinata's face. "I-I thought the fly..." She pointed, embarrassed, and Rukia clued in.

"Oh! No," she laughed. "The fly is Iba-fukutaichou." Her index fingers and thumbs formed circles around her eyes. "He has bug glasses!"

Hinata covered her mouth with her hand as a laugh threatened to spill forth. Rukia dropped her hands to her sides a little awkwardly, resuming a more stately posture. "Uhm, so... Eighth."

"Isn't Kyouraku-taichou in charge of the Eighth Division, Rukia-sama?" Hinata prompted gently.

"Yes." The Kuchiki grabbed a pink pen and set to drawing. "He's a pig."

Hinata's hand, which had dropped to her side, flew back to her mouth. "Rukia-sama, isn't... isn't that a little mean?"

Rukia's eyebrows shot up. "Oh! No! He likes pink! And pigs are pink!" She frowned thoughtfully. "Actually, to hear Ise-fukutaichou talk about it, I'd have to say it's quite fitting."

Hinata wondered exactly what Ise-fukutaichou was like, that she'd describe her Captain and a noble from the house of Kyouraku as a pig. Rukia promptly relieved her curiosity.

"Ise-fukutaichou is very poised and dignified and intelligent." Hinata watched as bright yellow eyes took shape on the page, and a black blob took on a cat-like shape. "And she likes to hit Kyouraku-taichou with fans. Or books."

A fan appeared on the cat's tail, poised precariously over the pig next to it.

"Ninth has Tousen-taichou and Hisagi-fukutaichou," Rukia added as she started a new creature, still using the black pen.

"Hisagi Shuuhei? He was Naruto-kun's mentor in the Academy."

Rukia glanced over, surprised. "He was? Were they close?"

"Naruto-kun really looks up to him," Hinata nodded. "I think its because..." She trailed off, but Rukia's curious expression encouraged her to continue. "Hisagi-fukutaichou failed the officers exam twice. His success gave Naruto hope."

Rukia looked at her for a moment before turning back to the drawings. Hinata followed her gaze, her eyes widening.

"I-is that a bat, Rukia-sama?"

A guilty expression appeared on the Kuchiki's face. "Yes. But look, Hisagi-fukutaichou is a zebra." She held the pen she had been drawing with to her cheek. "Stripy like his tattoos!"

Hinata picked up a pen and leaned over to the zebra, adding a "69" on its face. Rukia shot her a smile.

"Did you see Tenth at the officers ceremony yesterday?"

"Yes." Hinata nodded. "They were very... distinctive."

Rukia dropped her black pen and took up a gray one. "Matsumoto-fukutaichou calls Isshin-taichou an old goat sometimes," she explained as she began drawing cloven hoofs.

"What is Matsumoto-fukutaichou?" Hinata inquired curiously. The woman had made quite the impact the previous day, enthusiastically greeting the new officers.

"I think a lioness." Rukia glanced at Hinata, who had already selected the appropriate colour to pass to her. "Thank you. Do you know what I mean though? She's so fierce and protective."

Hinata thought back to the way the vice-captain had glared her Captain into submission. "A lioness seems perfect."

"Ukitake-fukutaichou mentioned that Zaraki-taichou didn't stay at the ceremony yesterday," Rukia continued. "And he's a really important one to know on sight."

Hinata nodded solemnly.

"He has spiky hair--" Rukia described as she drew. "-- and a lot of scars." Hinata couldn't see what the animal taking shape was yet, so she just listened to the other girl's descriptions. "Zaraki-taichou is terrifying," Rukia finished seriously, and moved the page so Hinata could see.

A hedgehog? "W-why does he have bells on his spikes?"

"I don't know," the Kuchiki confessed. "But he's scary."

Hinata stared at the picture. _Hedgehog with bells._ She suspected that the picture ruined Rukia's serious message somewhat, but she didn't say anything.

"Yachiru-fukutaichou is a monkey."

The Hyuuga watched a pink monkey appear next to the hedgehog. It was somewhat ruining the image of Eleventh she had developed in her mind because of her cousin. "A monkey?"

"When you meet her you'll understand," Rukia explained simply as she finished off the monkey's tail.

"Orochimaru-taichou is in charge of Twelfth then, Rukia-sama?" Hinata asked quietly. The few times she had seen the man had been terrifying, even more so than Ichimaru.

Rukia nodded and a dark green spiral began coiling over part of the page. "I overheard once that Orochimaru-taichou's Division is like a snake pit." She reached for a different pen, a forked red tongue lashing out of the serpents mouth, to which she also added fangs, and higher on the head two yellow eyes. "I don't know very much about the fukutaichou, Kaguya Kimimaro--," Rukia began as a red pen found its way to her hand, "--but I hear he sometimes gets very sick, like Gekko-fukutaichou." She replaced the cap of the pen with a satisfying click to reveal a red panda.

"And of course you know Ukitake-taichou and Kaien-dono." Gray and pink turned into a rabbit, 'because Ukitake-taichou is the best!' and a yellow puppy next to it, 'because Kaien-dono is so fun!'

Rukia lifted up the artwork, pleased with their efforts and both girls jumped at the sound of a voice behind them.

"What do you have there, Kuchiki-san?"

"Ukitake-taichou!" The young shinigami spun around as she stood to face her Captain. The white haired man smiled in greeting.

"Good to see you again, Hinata-san. I trust Kuchiki-san has been treating you well?"

"Oh, yes," the new Division member replied. "Rukia-sama has been very kind."

Rukia smiled the at other girl and presented her with the drawings. "Here you go, Hinata-san. Now you have your own guide to the Gotei Thirteen."

Hinata blushed a little again and ducked her head, missing the hopeful glance Rukia gave the Captain and his approving smile.

The sound of laughter echoed from the doorway and Shiba-fukutaichou came stumbling in, followed by two dark-haired women. "Ah, Miyako! Kurenai-chan!"

Rukia's face lit up as the tall man re-entered the room.

xXx

"So, what do you think of the new recruit?" Kaien asked, tossing her a can. Rukia fumbled it out of the air and blinked down at it.

"She seems…nice. Not at all what I'd expect a Hyuuga to be." Her eyes widened and she clapped her hands over her mouth as she realised exactly what she'd said. "I didn't mean it like that," she mumbled.

Kaien laughed, ruffling his hair and cracking open his own can. "Nah, I know what you mean. From what I've heard, she's a huge disappointment to her father. Bastard," he commented idly, chugging back the drink.

Rukia stared at her drink, turning it over in her hands before quietly opening it with a hiss of released air. "Kaien-dono…if you don't mind me asking…"

"What's my family like?" he asked for her, flopping gracelessly to the ground.

"Um, yes." She blushed as he tugged on her hand, dragging her down next to him.

"Hm. Well, my mother was a Kuchiki. I'm sure you know what that means. She had my dad _whipped_. Seriously. But he…he sort of saw things differently, I guess. He was a quiet guy, but not creepy quiet like Byaku-bo. He used to sneak us out to the Rukongai, me and my little sister." He laughed, and Rukia was startled into a smile. "So far as I know, she's still out there."

Rukia took a sip of her drink and wrinkled her nose. "Kaien-dono, this is disgusting."

Another laugh. Rukia was starting to get the feeling that she could listen to this man laugh all day and not get irritated. "Isn't it? I just wanted to see the look on your face - heh, see _a_ look on your face - when you drank it, but it sort of backfired on me, you were so damn slow."

"I'm sorry," she said immediately. "I'll try harder next time."

Kaien stared at her and she blushed hotly, realising how ridiculous she'd sounded. It used to be that she would have laughed at herself, but things had changed.

Kaien smirked - or tried to, at least. "Is that a smile I see?"

"No."

"It is."

"It's really not." But damn him, the smile was ready to escape the Kuchiki confines and break out at the sneaky look on his face.

"It is!"

"Fine!" she laughed. "Fine, it's a smile!"

"Kaien." A soft voice came from behind them and Rukia jumped about a foot in the air. A difficult feat when one was sitting down, but somehow she managed it. "Are you making Rukia-chan smile again? What have I told you about doing that? If she wants to be a miserable old crone, we have no right to intervene."

"Miyako-san!" Rukia exclaimed, blushing again.

"Miya-chan is so cruel! Don't you know it's rude to tease your elders, wife of mine?" Kaien pulled on his wife's foot and laughed as she fell to the ground with a shriek.

"Don't you know it's dangerous to annoy the woman of the house, soon-to-be-ex-husband of mine?" She poked him in the shoulder. "Anyway. Asuma-nii's taking his new recruits out for barbecue."

Kaien scratched his head. "What does that have to do with me?"

Hell, even Rukia knew what that meant. "Would Kurenai-san perhaps like for us to take Hinata-san out for barbecue?" she asked the third seat. Yuhi Kurenai was the fourth seat of the Thirteenth Division, and Miyako's best friend. On top of this, she had apparently been having a secret affair with Sarutobi Asuma that everyone had known about for the past forever.

Miyako winked, and Rukia beamed back, Kuchiki mask all but forgotten. "Got it in one, Rukia-san."

Kaien still looked confused as Miyako and Rukia got to their feet. "I don't get it."

Well. Everyone except Shiba Kaien.

xXx

The first thing Rangiku did when she entered a bar was not, contrary to popular belief, hit the sake. Instead, she searched the place for the most pathetic, morose-looking sack of meat she could find and then made it her mission to either cheer them up or mock them mercilessly, depending on who it was.

"Kakashi!"

The silver-haired man only looked up when she knocked shoulders with him as she sat down.

"Why so pouty?" she asked, waving a hand at the bartender. She was in here often enough for him to know her usual. "Hmm?" She leaned forward.

Kakashi's one visible eye darting down to her breasts before he returned to his drink, smirking. "I don't think I've had nearly enough alcohol to deal with those, Rangiku."

"What?" Rangiku glanced down and swore upon seeing that she was falling out again. "Honestly, you have no idea how annoying these things are," she grumbled, tucking herself back in. "Have I told you about--"

"How sore your back gets?" Kakashi finished, drinking the sake through his mask. "Frequently. Loudly. In great detail."

She smirked. "That's not the only thing you know in great detail. Sharingan is good for more than just fighting, hmm?" She laughed delightedly as he choked on the sake and raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's gotten into you?" he asked.

"Recruits are still alive, taichou's happy and I've successfully skived off an entire week of paperwork. What about you?"

"I'm not sure that your taichou being any happier than he usually is something to be glad about, Rangiku."

"It's not that sort of glad. Thank you," she murmured to the bar tender as he slid a bottle to her. "I gave them the Test, and they held up long enough for Isshin to figure they won't die out on the field. And they work together well. He's happy to know that he probably won't have to replace the new seated members for a while yet."

"You love your taichou, hmm?"

Rangiku gave him a wry grin. "Of course I do. And if you tell him, rest assured your reincarnation will be singing soprano."

Kakashio winced as the bar doors swung open and a large collection of seated members trailed in, Kyouraku Shunsui bringing up the rear with his disgruntled fukutaichou trying to walk and do paperwork at the same time.

Rangiku stood and hailed them immediately. "Oi, you lot! Come here and bitch about your new recruits! Hatake here got a set of Eternal Rivals." She blinked, then grimaced. "I have spent far too much time about Maito Gai. Ah, well. Kurenai, next to me. Asuma, on the other side."

The fourth-seat of Thirteenth blushed to match her eyes, but nonetheless complied. There really was no arguing with Matsumoto Rangiku.

Kaien dragged two tables together, making some joke or another with Shunsui before steering his wife into a seat next to her brother. Rangiku grinned as Miyako hit her husband on the shoulder.

"I'm fully capable of seating myself, thank you very much."

"Looks like you're not needed, Shiba," Mitarashi Anko announced, flopping on to the barstool next to Kakashi as Shunsui hailed the bar tender. "Of course, I can't imagine you were ever of any use to a woman like Sarutobi Miyako anyway."

"Regardless of his usefulness, I do actually have his name now Anko. Shiba, not Sarutobi."

"Notice she didn't defend him," Asuma muttered to Kurenai, who laughed.

"Hn. Unfortunately." Anko smirked. "Oi, bartender. None of this pansy shit for me, I'll take the hard vodka."

"You know, Anko-chan," Rangiku remarked. "One day someone's going to think you're serious, and then where will you be?"

The woman shuddered. "Dead, hopefully. God forbid I be taken seriously." She tossed back whatever concoction the bartender had given her and grimaced.

"Nanao-chan is so cruel to me!" Shunsui wailed for whatever reason, and was summarily ignored. After a decade of listening to Nanao beat him up, it was basically background noise anyway.

The conversation made the rounds, skimming over bits of gossip and concentrating on the new recruits. All and all, Rangiku figured she'd gotten some of the best, although she wished that her Captain had gunned for the Yamanaka chick. Rangiku's fingers were itching for a project, and boys weren't nearly so exciting to make over as girls were.

Ah well. When she thought about it, Rangiku wouldn't have wanted to try and face down Soi Fon either.

People came and went, drifting in and out in ones and twos until eventually it was just Rangiku and Kakashi again. She knocked shoulders with him for the second time that night to get his attention.

"Hey. What about you? You never answered my question, you know."

"What question was this?" he asked, face the picture of slightly inebriated innocence.

Rangiku laughed. "The only time you ever look innocent, Kakashi, is when you're not. What's got you so down in the--" She cut herself off as a thought hit her (thoughts got like that with her when she was a little drunk). "Oh."

Kakashi gave her that self-deprecating smirk that meant she'd hit the nail on the head.

Rangiku swirled her finger in the watermark left on the bar. "The Uzumaki thing really got to you then, huh?"

"If I say no, will you believe me?"

She sighed. "If you're telling me the truth, I will."

He stayed silent.

"Well jeez, this isn't depressing in the slightest," she announced, pushing her bottle of sake to where she assumed his lips were. "C'mon, I know that's not all. Drink, and spill your troubles unto my bosom." Somehow she managed a wink. "Only your troubles, mind."

For the second time that night, she succeeded in making him choke. He waited for her to stop laughing before he started to talk.

"You remember what I told you it was like for me when I joined First?"

Rangiku thought about it. "Third time we got drunk together?"

"Fourth." Strange things tended to happen when Rangiku and Kakashi got drunk together, enough to warrant them remembering it for future reference,

"Oh." It clicked. "_Oh!_ Déjà vu?"

"Something like that," he muttered. "Guy likes girl, girl likes other guy, he pays no attention to her and the guys hate each other. And you know how my taichou's all about teamwork, but there's no way I'll ever get them working with each other." He became pensive. "Unless I can convince the Uchiha to give up an eyeball."

Rangiku hit him on the shoulder. "Kakashi, you're a pathetic drunk. Drink more and get trashed, maybe that'll improve you. Anyway, as for teamwork, didn't you say something around the…oh, the fifth or seventh time we got drunk together? About some bell test or something that Ku - ah, Uzu - oh damn, your old fukutaichou made up?"

He was just buzzed enough that her mention of Kushina passed over him. "Bell test?" She watched him think about it. "Nah, they wouldn't be into it, and I'm probably going to be hung over tomorrow. I don't want to deal with all the yelling."

Rangiku shrugged. "So tell them you'll kick 'em out if they don't listen."

Kakashi peered at her. "I don't have the power to do that."

She grinned, swigging back the last of her sake. "That's the beauty of it, Kakashi. They're new recruits; they'll do anything you tell them to."

xXx

"Yo."

Kakashi appeared on top of the fence behind the trio Aizen had assigned to him, delighting in their collective jump as they spun to face him. "Ready to learn?"

"We've been ready for three hours!" Haruno had her hands on her hips, her annoyed sentiment echoed loudly by Naruto. A glance at Uchiha was met with crossed arms and a moody expression.

A good start, then.

"I was hung over," he replied succinctly. It was actually partly true. "But anyway. Aizen-taichou assigned me the task of training you three." He jumped down from the top of the fence, slipping his little orange book into his pocket. "Today we're going to start with a simple test."

"A test?" Haruno's expression belied her curiosity. "What for?"

"To see if you can stay in the Division." Kakashi smiled at them from behind his mask. "The tests the other day were just to see if you had potential. This is the real deal."

Naruto had paled slightly at the mention of another exam. Uchiha straightened his back, giving Kakashi his full attention for the first time.

"It's pretty simple really," the vice-captain explained, pulling a couple of bells from his pocket. "I have here two bells. The objective is to get the bells from me. The one who fails to do so will either be sent back to the Academy or demoted to regular Division member status, depending on my mood." His eyes crinkled as he beamed at them.

There was an explosion of outraged voices, and he mused that Rangiku was right. They'd believe anything he told them. _:This might actually be fun.:_

_:So long as it doesn't take too long.:_

_:…I don't know why I bother talking to you.:_

"To hell with failing!" Naruto drew his zapakutou enthusiastically, letting out a yell as he barrelled towards Kakashi. The fukutaichou just sighed lightly, flash-stepping behind his student and locking Naruto's arms behind his head.

"I didn't say 'go' yet." The silver haired shinigami released Naruto, who stumbled forward a couple of steps. Kakashi turned a little, addressing the others. "He has the right idea though - you need your zanpakutou drawn and a killing intent to even stand a chance at getting these--" He dangled the bells again. "-- from me." He paused. "Or surviving the day at all, actually."

The blood drained completely from Naruto and Haruno's faces and he repressed a chuckle. "If you succeed at getting the bells I'll let you have lunch."

"If we don't?" Haruno had her arms crossed and Kakashi felt his eyebrow raise a little. _She likes to ask questions, doesn't she?_

"Then you won't need to worry about lunch." The fukutaichou allowed himself a lazy yawn and threw a bored expression to the sky. "Well, we may as well get started." His one visible eye trailed over the trio, who for once weren't bickering. "Ready... steady..."

Simultaneously they all flash stepped into the wooded training area, although the effect was rather ruined by Naruto's swearing as he smacked into a wall.

Kakashi shook his head slightly. Apparently an aptitude for swearing was a genetic trait, after all. Crouching in the branches of a tree, he pushed the thought away, his mind returning to the situation with his students. _Haruno and Uchiha are well hidden._ His head tilted to the side. _Naruto doesn't seem to be repressing his reiatsu at all._

"Hey! Kakashi-sensei!" _An odd mix, but there's no -kun there._ A brash voice compelled him to stick his head out of the tree he was in. Naruto had his tanto drawn and a thumb jabbing into his chest in what Kakashi was beginning to suspect was a signature pose. "Come out and fight me so I can eat already!"

Kakashi simply waved from the tree, enjoying the expression that flashed over Naruto's face as the boy charged towards him. Charging, that is, until the trap he had set went off and the young shinigami found himself tangled in rope, suspended a few metres from the ground."A shinigami--" Kakashi began as he dropped down from the tree. "--must always look underneath the underneath." And then he flash-stepped off again, swerving past Uchiha as the brat came at him from the opposite direction.

All in all, it turned out to be a pretty depressing experience. Both Naruto and Uchiha used their shikai while Haruno tried to conserve her energy and ruined a good strategy by running around after the Uchiha. All three of them missed the idea entirely - he might have given points to Haruno for trying to help Uchiha if it wasn't patently obvious that she didn't give a damn what happened to Naruto, and she wasn't actually any good at helping the so-called avenger anyway.

He was engaged in a fairly routine sword fight with Sasuke's flaming Amaterasu when Naruto tripped the sensors he'd set up around the bento boxes they'd left behind.

_Hmm. Last chance, brats. It's not like I can actually kick you out, but I can make your lives as miserable as you make mine._

Without warning, he flash-stepped away from the fight, leaving a rather bemused looking Uchiha standing.

"Underneath the underneath," Kakashi sighed as Naruto snuck towards the lunches. "Why does no one ever listen to me when I say cool things?" He didn't even blink when Naruto walked straight into the second trap. "All right, break time!" he called, watching Naruto dangle from one of the trees for a moment before letting him down and tying him to a nearby log. He'd always wondered what those things were for; now he knew.

The other two flash-stepped in as Naruto kicked up a storm. Behind the bravado, though, there was real fear there, and Kakashi almost felt bad for the kid. He no doubt would have felt a little more sympathy had the kid not been yelling so loud.

"I've decided to be kind," Kakashi told Haruno and Uchiha. "Take a break, eat lunch. I've got something to do, so I'll be back in about ten minutes. If I catch one of you feeding him, it'll be straight back to the Academy for you." Man, he was a bastard. Knowing these two, Naruto wouldn't be getting any lunch at all today. "Understood?"

Uchiha grunted, which Kakashi took to be a slightly disturbing agreement as Haruno gave a stuttered little 'yes, sensei'.

_Sensei?_ he mused as he flash-stepped to a nearby tree to watch. _What's with that?_

Moving stiffly, the two recruits not tied to logs opened their bento boxes. The growl from Naruto's stomach was so loud that Kakashi heard it from his position in the tree.

A few minutes ticked by silently, and Kakashi was beginning to despair of this exercise ever working before Uchiha finally rolled his eyes and turned to Naruto.

"Open your mouth, dobe."

"Te - mmph!"

Uchiha had taken advantage of the open mouth and shoved a rice ball in there.

"Sasuke-kun!" Haruno hissed. "What are you doing? You could get sent back!"

The bored tone to Uchiha's voice belied the fear Kakashi could read in the tension of his body. "He's a fukutaichou, Sakura. It's going to take all three of us to take him down and get those bells, and we can't do that if one of us is weak from hunger."

Naruto had finished chewing, but didn't interrupt, a strange frown wriggling between his eyebrows.

Haruno looked a little stunned. It was probably the most amount of words she'd ever heard Uchiha speak, and they were about Naruto.

"You mean…working together?" she said finally. "But there are only two bells."

Uchiha shoved another rice ball into Naruto's mouth. Naruto had the good sense not to complain. "So we'll cut them in half or whatever. If no one gets those bells, we all go back."

"…oh." Hesitantly, Haruno picked up her chopsticks again. Kakashi watched her face carefully to make sure that the message was actually sinking in, and she wasn't just going along with it because there was no other way. "Don't _think_ anything about this, all right Naruto? I still hate you." Nonetheless, she took far more care than Uchiha had when she fed him, only stabbing him with the chopsticks once and that was by accident.

_:Isn't that the sweetest thing?: _Shirokarasu drawled,

_:Stop talking.:_

He was almost proud of the brats for actually, finally, getting the point.

That didn't mean he was above giving them the fright of their lives. Calling upon the weather through Shirokarasu, he summoned a heavy thunder cloud as he flash-stepped back to his brats.

They all jumped, but before he managed to get a word in, they were all yelling at him about teamwork - even Sasuke put his two cents in with a particularly loud 'Hn'.

"Jeez, you guys didn't even let me get started," Kakashi sighed. "Look, the point of this exercise wasn't to get the bells."

They blinked.

"Those who abandon their missions are trash," he instructed, ignoring the battering of old memories. "Those who abandon their friends, however, are worse than trash." He rested his eyes on Sasuke in particular as Naruto and Sakura glanced at each other. "Remember that." He drew out _Icha Icha _and waved his hands in dismissal. "All right, that's my melodrama for the day. You all pass." A particular thought occurred to him and he hid a grin behind the book. "Why don't the three of you go and tell taichou?"

xXx

_Thanks for reading!_


	5. Chapter 4

_Bella here, dropping off another chapter. And... oh, gracious. For some reason __**Feilyn**__ and I were overcome by the irrational urge to push out two chapters in less than a week... long chapters. It's a combined sensation of "freaking awesome!" and "Gah! Need! Sleep!" Anyway, now I'm just being silly. Before we launch into chapter four though, __**Feilyn**__ and I both really want to plug __**I Am The Random Idiot**__, just for being generally awesome and lovely, but also for some epic grade ficcage – especially Kill All Your Friends. There are more important notes at the end of this chapter, but for now I present to you Chapter Four!_

xXx

Abarai Renji was in a hurry. And when Abarai Renji was in a hurry, he tended not to take in his surroundings all that well.

Which was probably why he crashed straight into something at about chest height and promptly send them both tipping over.

"Ow…sorry," he groaned when the something started moving and he realised that it wasn't a something at all, but rather a some_one._

"Oh, no!" A hand appeared in front of his face as he struggled into a sitting position. "The fault was mine - here, let me…_Renji?_"

_Oh, shit_.

He knew that voice.

"Renji, you idiot, what the hell is your problem?" The hand was immediately withdrawn from his field of vision to be replaced with Rukia's head. "How many times do I have to tell you to watch where you're go…ing..." A grimace chased the outrage across her small face before a blank mask slammed down on it, and she pulled back sharply. "Sorry," she clipped out, turning quickly.

Renji gathered his wits, forgot all about being late and the fact that Rukia was now _Kuchiki_ Rukia, and instead lunged forward and tagged her hand. "Oi, wait."

She tensed all over and didn't turn back, but she made no move to pull away. "Something you wanted to say, Abarai?" she asked coolly and he winced.

"Uh…" He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, casting frantically about for something to say before she decided he really was an idiot and left. "How…have ya been?" His voice lilted up hopefully at the end.

"Perfectly fine."

He hadn't spent half a century or so with her without knowing when Rukia was lying. It was getting her to admit to the lie that was the problem; Naruto had always been good at it, but Renji was no Naruto.

"I - uh, that's good, I guess."

"I must request that you unhand me, Sixth Seat Abarai." Her voice held no inflection and _damn_, it was weird hearing her like that. Sure her voice was kind of deep, but even back in the Academy you could hear the emotion.

If that was what being noble meant, Renji wanted no part of it. Or so he told himself, at least. He sighed and dropped her hand, looking anywhere but at her back as she started to walk away.

"Rukia, I just wanna talk--"

She stopped, muscles tensing once again. "Oh, so _now_ you want to talk?"

Renji probably should have been afraid of the dangerous tone in the girl's voice, but he was too happy to hear it actually _there_ that he forgot. "Well, yeah. I mean, it's been a while."

He almost thought he'd gotten somewhere, almost thought she'd actually listen for once, when she started walking.

"It has."

Damn it. _Damn _it. Renji's hands clenched and unclenched, and before he could stop himself, he opened his big, fat, stupid mouth. "God, Rukia, you've changed. You're such a _bitch_."

_Oh, __**shit.**_

Turned out Rukia wasn't quite so noble as she pretended to be. She whipped around, eyes blazing. "_What?_"

He'd done it now. She'd always been quick to fire up, and now Renji had to either back down, or keep going.

He kept going.

"Man, people called ya the Ice Bitch and I _defended_ ya, but I don't know why I bothered." _Shut up_. "I'm meant to be your freakin' best friend, and I don't even get a 'hi' in the street anymore!" _Oh god, shut up. _"And then there's _Naruto_--"

"Don't you talk to me about Naruto!"

"Why not? Don't like to be reminded of us plebs ya left behind, eh?"

She spluttered. "_Plebs?_ I never - I didn't--" She was near incoherent with rage, and he took savage pleasure in the fact that she was still human.

Time for the final blow. He was going to hate himself later, but right now there was no stopping him. "Ya got everything ya ever wanted and left us behind in the dirt, Rukia. And now you're getting pissy because we got the guts to actually call you on it? Che. Ya never--"

_Smack!_

Rukia's small hand cracked across Renji's face with surprising force, and he stumbled back a few paces, wide-eyed.

"I would like to know," she started, voice quiet, deadly. "Who this 'we' is."

He stared at her in disbelief. "Ya forgot him? Ya forgot _Naruto_?"

"_I_ didn't forget him!" she yelled, and he stepped back again to escape the fire blazing in her eyes. She was beyond angry, she was _enraged_. "I may be forbidden to speak to him, or even shake his hand, but I wasn't the one who forgot him! Damn it, Renji, you didn't even make it to his graduation! The officers exam, I can understand, but his graduation? You should have _heard _him! So proud of being friends with _the_ Abarai Renji, and you weren't even there to back it up, let alone defend him from those damned _vultures_. People hate him, Renji!"

Renji's brain shut down for the single moment it took to open his mouth.

"Naruto graduated?"

Emotion spun across Rukia's face like a whirlwind, finally settling on utter disgust. "Six months ago," she whispered. "You _bastard_. You're so wrapped up in your training and this stupid quest for power in a grudge that doesn't _matter,_ that you'd sacrifice one of your best friends. I can't believe you."

His stomach lurched to his knees while his heart pounded somewhere in his throat. "Rukia, I'm--"

"I'm not the one you should be apologising to." She looked like she was about to yell some more when a weird look swept away the disgust and she paused, then sighed. "I'm a hypocrite." She shook her head. "Just - apologise to Naruto; chances are you're already forgiven, if he's even realised you were at fault at all."

And then she disappeared.

Renji stared numbly at the spot Rukia had flash-stepped away from. Somehow, the knowledge that Naruto would forgive him for his stupidity made the whole thing _worse_, not better.

"_Idiot_."

xXx

Rukia wasn't concentrating on what was in front of her as she rushed towards Thirteenth Division, thinking only about important things like her destination and not mundane stuff like safely turning corners. Probably because of this, she thudded into something hard while turning the corner, swearing internally when she realized that, for the second time that day, she had run into someone.

"Hey, Kuchiki, what's the rush?" Kaien was laughing, as always, one arm casually thrown around Miyako's waist.

"My apologies, Kaien-dono, Miyako-san." Something in her tone must have betrayed her feelings, or maybe it was the fact that she didn't look either of them in the eye, because there was a brief pause where she could imagine Miyako and Kaien sharing a significant look.

"Kaien, I have to go and take care of something at Tenth with Rangiku. I'll see you a bit later?"

"Sure thing, love."

The ground crunched under Miyako's feet as she made an exit, before fading into silence.

There was a heavy pause before Kaien spoke, his voice casual as ever. "Goin' to Headquarters?"

"Yes, Kaien-dono." Her eyes were still downcast. She doubted she'd be able to keep her poorly held together Kuchiki mask at all if she caught sight of a kind face.

"Good!" He slung an arm around her shoulders. "Escort me there, will ya?"

"E-escort you? I…of course."

They walked in silence until Thirteenth was in their sights, where Rukia was surprised by Kaien coming to a stop before they reached the entrance. She threw him a questioning glance, but her eyes slid rapidly to the ground when the concerned look on his face sunk in.

"What's wrong?" The arm that hand been thrown across her back was now a single hand resting on her shoulder. _Eyes to the ground. Eyes. To. The ground._

"N-nothing, Kaien-dono." _Damn it._

There was a heavy sigh and the hand disappeared from her shoulder entirely.

"Lyin' to your fukutaichou?" Her eyes widened at his words. "That's not nice, Kuchiki."

Her face snapped back up to his.

"I'm going up to the roof," he continued, not allowing her the chance to speak before he leapt up. "Oi, Kuchiki! Come up 'ere! That's an order!" Kaien grinned as he waved, prompting a small smile back. She hit the roof with a slight clatter a moment later.

"So, when someone is sad Miyako likes to take 'em tissues and chocolate an' stuff. I don't have any chocolate handy--" An apologetic grin appeared. "-- but if you tell me what's wrong I might be able to find something with Chappie on it."

Her cheeks reddened at the mention of Chappie. "It's just that rabbits are cute," she muttered under her breath.

Kaien chuckled at her embarrassment, before poking her in the side. "Oi. Don't think I'm not going to keep annoying you until ya tell me."

"Kaien-dono isn't annoying!"

He poked her again.

And again.

Finally she gave in. "I ran into Renji today."

"Ahhhh." Kaien tilted his head a little, remembering. "Pineapple-haired kid? Funky eyebrows?"

Rukia nodded.

"Did the punk break yer heart?"

For a moment she thought her jaw might break off. "_What?_"

"Kidding!" He received light punch to the arm for his troubles. "Seriously, what'd he do?"

Rukia paused for so long she thought the vice-captain might start poking her again.

"We had a talk about Naruto." A quick glance at Kaien revealed he was watching her intently. Her jaw clenched for a moment to fight the emotions that were starting to bubble again. "Renji said...he said that I just left them behind and treated Naruto like dirt." She blinked, her hands balling into fists. "He made me so angry, Kaien-dono but..." her hands relaxed a little. "I'm just as bad as the people in his Division."

"Nah."

"It's true."

A sudden slap to the back took her by surprise.

"I said, 'nah.' You can't be his best friend because you have Kuchiki-hime breathing down yer neck--"

"Kaien-dono!" The name somehow made its way past her hands, which were now covering her mouth.

"-- and you have to do what his Highness tells you." The vice-captain shook his head. "Byukuya never used to be like this. Seriously, he was a brat."

Rukia's brow furrowed a little in confusion.

"I know it sucks--" Kaien leaned back on the roof a little. "--but he _is _just trying to protect you."

Once again, Rukia felt like her jaw was hanging in a very un-noble fashion.

"From _what_?"

Kaien's eyes seemed to widen with realization. "I, uh, nothing I can think of." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "My point is, Renji is being a bastard. Not your fault." He peeled himself off the roof, back into a sitting position. "The kid probably has a fat head, _and_ he probably misses you."

Rukia thought about his words for a moment. She hadn't really considered that.

"I mean, just 'cause you can't talk to Naruto doesn't mean you can't talk to Pineapple-hair. No rules about that one, right?"

"No." She shook her said. "But I don't think I can do that to Naruto. Talk to Renji and not to him?"

Kaien frowned a little. "Can't Renji be Naruto's friend?"

"He... didn't know Naruto had graduated," Rukia almost grimaced her response. The vice-captain's eyebrows shot up.

"Oh. Well that's stupid." Kaien rolled his eyes, bringing a slight smile to Rukia's lips. "He really_ does_ have a big head." The smile quickly faded, earning a sympathetic look from Kaien. "Naruto does have his Division though. I know they haven't been great, but maybe they deserve the benefit of the doubt too."

This time Rukia's eyebrows were the ones to rise. "But, Kaien-dono, that Sakura girl was horrible to him! And Sasuke-san--" She was cut off by the look he gave her.

"I don't know about Sasuke, 'cause he's never seemed like a ray of sunshine to me, but I bet Sakura-chan isn't so bad. Probably just shy or something."

Rukia blinked. "Shy?"

"Yeah," Kaien shrugged. "Rangiku told Miyako that her girl Ino has a sore spot when it comes to Sakura. Don't know about you, but if that girl had a sore spot concerning me,_ I'd_ be pretty terrified. Bet you Sakura deserves a second chance, or time to grow, or... something."

Rukia stared at the man. "Time to grow, Kaien-dono?"

"Yeah," he nodded, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Probably just has low self-esteem."

It was quite possible that Rukia's brain was going to fall out. She thought it might have already. "Low self-esteem?"

"Yep."

They sat in silence for a while, her mind processing the information that Kaien had just thrown at her.

The sound of Kurenai and Hinata returning to the Division headquarters caught her attention and she remembered what she had been meaning to do before being sidetracked by Renji. "I have to go and ask Hinata-san about something." She stood, brushing off her uniform, going to turn before hesitating. "Thank you, Kaien-dono."

The tall shinigami threw her a thumbs up. "Anytime, Kuchiki."

She gave him a grateful smile before jumping down to the entrance.

_Low self-esteem._ Her brow furrowed a little as she entered the Division building, remembering how she'd suspected something similar at the exams but never actually bothered to think that she might have been right.

_Huh._

xXx

"Ah, Uchiha-kun!" Aizen looked up in surprise as Sasuke entered his office. "Our training session doesn't start for half an hour…?"

Sasuke took in the man, the Captain who was never meant to be _his_ Captain. His face was warm, but behind his glasses usually soft brown eyes were cautious.

Sasuke would have liked to have thought it was because he was a force to be reckoned with, but after six months as an officer, he knew this wasn't exactly so.

"It doesn't," he confirmed, mind casting restlessly about for a way to introduce his actual reason for visiting without offending the older man. He'd discovered that was something he really _didn't_ like doing - Aizen had a peculiar way of making one feel guilty for doing nothing at all. But in a nice way.

It was weird, but Sasuke found he didn't mind all that much.

"Uchiha-kun?"

"What do you know about the Sharingan?" he blurted. _:Oh, smooth.:_

_:You're too hard on yourself, Sasuke.:_ Amaterasu sighed.

_:Not nearly hard enough, rather.:_

Aizen pulled off his glasses and rubbed at his temple a little before giving Sasuke his full attention. "It is an Uchiha matter then, rather than a Division matter."

Sasuke struggled to hold the man's eyes, momentarily blindsided by the use of his given name. "I know you were never recognised by the clan, but surely you must know something? Training techniques, or--"

"I do not have the Sharingan, Sasuke," Aizen said gently.

Sasuke stared. "But…"

"I take after my mother." He shrugged good-naturedly. "It happens, sometimes. Not every son of an Uchiha has the Sharingan."

_:What - what if--:_

_:You have the Sharingan, Sasuke. I can sense the potential. If you stopped trying to force yourself to do the same, it would come to you. You must be patient.:_

_:There's no time for patience, Amaterasu! I have to kill Itachi.:_

_:You must _find_ him first, my love.:_

Sasuke looked at his feet, jaw and hands clenched so hard it hurt. "I…I am sorry for bringing up such an uncomfortable subject, Aizen-taichou."

"Something I have learnt over the years, Sasuke, is that it is far easier to place blame, yet you will get nowhere with it. I blame no one for my existence, nor the circumstances surrounding it, and while it was difficult, I believe I am a better man because of it." He smiled. "I do have wide and varied knowledge on the Uchiha clan, however, even if I was not instructed in the art of the Sharingan. If you ever have any questions, Sasuke, feel free to come to me."

"I…of course, Aizen-taichou. Thank you."

Sasuke left the office feeling more confused than when he had entered.

xXx

"Ah hah! Take that, bastard!" Naruto's zanpakutou met Sasuke's with a resounding clash, but Sasuke held his ground, shoving back so that the idiot was pushed away. As long as he kept Naruto at a distance with his katana, the idiot's tanto couldn't touch him.

Naruto had barely landed from his backwards bounce when he was hounding Sasuke again, battering at Amaterasu with massive amounts of energy. The dark haired shinigami responded with much calmer movements, knowing that eventually the blond would wear himself out, and then Sasuke's victory would hopefully shut the idiot up for a few minutes. He'd long since given up trying to win for winning's sake.

"Dobe." He smirked as their blades caught in another block, Naruto not failing his expectations as his cheeks flushed a little and he pulled back to begin another furious charge.

"Naruto."

Sasuke allowed himself another smirk at the blond's expression as he was thrown off by the sound of Kakashi's voice.

"You need to take advantage of your weapon, not let Sasuke dominate you with his." Their assigned 'sensei' allowed his eyes to slip back to the book he was reading, just in time for Naruto's frustrated outburst.

"That's what I've been doing!"

Sasuke allowed the tip of his blade to rest on the ground as Kakashi dragged his eyes back to Naruto.

"It's really not."

The blond spluttered, throwing a confused look to Sasuke as the vice-captain went back to reading again. The Eighteenth Seat shrugged and lifted Amaterasu again, inviting Naruto to bring Koyote back into play.

"C'mon, dobe. You'll never get any better if you don't practice."

"Teme!"

At the other end of the training grounds Sakura was trying to ignore Naruto's yelling. All things considered, it was beyond difficult to not twist around to what Sasuke was doing to make Naruto that aggravated – although, after six months of being an officer with the two of them, it was probably the Eighteenth Seat just _being_ Sasuke.

"Now, listen carefully, Haruno-chan." Aizen said the kidou incantation slowly, emphasizing certain words. Sakura blinked hopelessly at him for a moment, then bit her lip and concentrated on repeating the spell, stuttering once or twice. He smiled kindly and took a step back as she turned to face the targets. Sakura was staring at them, muttering the incantation over and over again as Hinamori Momo came to her side.

"You need to really concentrate your energy into your fingertips for this to work, Haruno-chan."

Sakura was aware of Hinamori gently taking hold of her arms and correcting her posture a little. "Ready?"

The pink haired shinigami nodded a little nervously. _Breathe. Get it together. _

She stared down her arms towards the targets as the incantation rolled, a little awkwardly, off her tongue.

"Destructive spell sixty-three: Raikōhō!" _Thunder Roar Cannon. _Yellow lightning snapped towards the target, obliterating one side. "Yes!" Her glee faded a little as the smoke lifted and she noticed the scorch mark on the wall to the right of target.

"Well done, Haruno-chan." Aizen's voice calmed her disappointment a little as she turned around. "Your talent for grasping new kidou is impressive."

Her lips tugged into a smile at his words.

A particularly loud yell from Naruto interrupted Aizen's next comment, the three of them turning to see the Twentieth Seat facedown in the dirt as Sasuke stood on his back. Kakashi appeared to be contentedly reading, oblivious as the blond squirmed and Sasuke looked down at him, face blank but for the faint hint of a smile on his lips.

Months ago, Sakura would have gone into raptures at the sight. Months ago, however, Aizen Sousuke had not been her Captain.

Although…Sasuke _did _look fantastic like that. Sakura tried to stare without making it look like she was staring.

"Excuse me for a moment," Aizen sighed. "Hinamori-kun, could you continue with Haruno-chan's training?"

The older girl beamed. "Of course, Aizen-taichou!"

Aizen nodded his gratitude before turning to head towards the others. Sakura waited as Hinamori watched their Captain walk for a moment, before turning back to resume her training.

"That was very good, Haruno-chan," Hinamori began. "Perhaps we can work on your technique and then concentrate on your aim?" The small officer turned to face the targets, Sakura following suit. "As you get more control of the spell itself, you will probably find your aim with it improves anyway."

Sakura nodded carefully as she raised her aims to focus on another target. "Like this, Hinamori-san?"

The dark haired girl examined the other girls posture for a moment.

"Try to relax a little more. It's lightning kidou, so the current needs to be able to flow through your arms when you summon it."

_:You can do it, Sakura!__Kick that target's ass!__:_

_:__…Shut up,__ Yami.:_

Breathing deeply, Sakura let the muscles in her arms and shoulders loosen. Her eyes closed, trying to visualise the reiatsu current gathering in her fingertips.

This time the spell was less awkward on her tongue. There was a crackle as the lightning danced from her fingertips. She clamped her eyes shut again as soon as the spell released.

"Well done, Haruno-chan!"

A green eye cracked open, before both eyes widened at the sight of a smoking pole, the target on top completely blown away. Sakura smiled happily at Hinamori, aware of Yami pumping her fist into the air somewhere in her inner world.

_:Hell yes! __Take that, world!__ Do it again!:_

"Although--" Hinamori distracted Sakura from the exclamations of her zanpakutou. "-- it might be better in battle to do it without closing your eyes."

A blush spread over Sakura's cheeks, joining a sheepish smile.

Naruto's head snapped up as much as it could from his position of pinned-to-the-ground. "Whoa! What did Sakura-chan just do?"

"She is mastering destructive spells," Aizen said, and there was a slight pause where Naruto imagined the Captain glaring at Sasuke – never mind that Aizen-taichou never glared. "If you could step off Naruto-kun, I would be very appreciative, Uchiha-kun."

As soon as the weight was off him, the blond bounced back to his feet. "Take that, teme!"

He missed Aizen's slight sigh as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "How is the training going?"

Grinning, Naruto gave him a thumbs up. "Great, Aizen-taichou!" The officer dusted himself off a little as he spoke. "Kakashi-sensei is confusing, though."

The silver-haired vice-captain glanced up at the sound of the name that Sakura and Naruto had assigned him. "I'm never confusing."

Naruto ignored him.

"Training is fine for a bit, but you know I have to go easy on Sasuke, Aizen-taichou." He glared at Sasuke's snort. "When can we go on a proper mission?"

A slight smile curled the corners of Aizen's mouth as a laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"All in due time, Naruto-kun."

Naruto's face fell. "Aw, Aizen-taichou!"

Sakura shook her head slightly. "How does Naruto always have so much energy?"

"He's always been like that," Hinamori responded gently.

"You know him?" Sakura asked, surprised. She'd only really met Naruto in her last year at the Academy, but she'd been under the impression he didn't have any friends.

"Not personally, no, but Abarai-kun would always talk about Kuchiki-san and Uzumaki-kun, and he always said Uzumaki-kun was the most hyperactive person in the Rukongai."

Sakura felt her jaw slacken a little. "Abarai Renji and Kuchiki Rukia?"

Hinamori nodded yes, prompting Sakura to snap her head back to look at Naruto.

_Friends with Kuchiki Rukia? _Her mouth slipped into a slight frown._ He was telling the truth?_

"Would you like to try the spell again, Haruno-chan?"

She pushed the thoughts away and restored a smile to her face. "Oh...yes! Thank you, Hinamori-san."

xXx

It was three o'clock in the morning, and Naruto was working on kidou.

Something he'd discovered in the past six or so months was that he really wasn't very good at it. He'd known before, of course, but his time in Fifth Division had confirmed it for him. It wasn't so much that he didn't have the power, but rather that he didn't have the control - every time he'd tried something other than a simple Restrain or Thrust, he'd ended up creating huge craters in Fifth's training grounds. He'd been ecstatic at first before Aizen had reminded him that he'd most likely be fighting with other shinigami, and that such uncontrolled power was dangerous.

His Captain had given him some techniques to deal with that, and Sakura-chan (who was really _good_ at kidou) had tried to show him how to put them to use, but he was sort of too embarrassed to admit to the weakness in front of Sasuke.

Hence the reason he was up at three o'clock in the morning. Working on kidou.

Or trying to, at least.

"Damn it, why isn't it _working?_" he growled.

_:Has no one ever told you that patience is a virtue?: _Koyote asked, towering over the village in Naruto's mind.

_:No one ever told me anything: _Naruto shot back. _:And what does virtue mean, anyway?:_

_:You should know better than to ask me questions by now: _the coyote replied, tongue lolling out as he shrank down to a more ordinary size. _:Hmm. Pack approaches.:_

"What are you doing out here, dobe?"

Naruto would have shot back some smart sort of insult, but he was just too tired. Instead, he flopped backwards into the dirt and sighed heavily. "Nothin'. What are _you_ doing out here?"

Sasuke lowered himself to the ground, not so close that he could be considered sitting next to Naruto, but not far away either. "I come out here to think, sometimes." His voice changed a little, a tiny small bit of humour injecting into the tone. "I wouldn't expect you to understand that, dobe."

There was no bite to the words though, not even the irritation and rivalry that usually built up in the day. Naruto turned his head to frown at his rival's outline. "Think about what?"

"If you wouldn't understand, why would I tell you?"

"Che. You're such an asshole, Sasuke."

"So you keep saying."

Naruto wasn't entirely sure how long they sat in silence like that, but eventually it was Sasuke who moved, standing just as silently as he'd sat down.

A few steps. A pause.

"Empty your mind first," the other boy said.

Naruto blinked. "Eh?"

"For the kidou techniques. Sometimes it helps if you empty your mind first, before imagining the technique carrying through perfectly." And with the soft crunch of the ground underneath, Sasuke disappeared.

Naruto frowned, flinging himself to his feet. Staring at his hands for a few moments, he took a deep breath and then closed his eyes.

_Empty the mind, eh?_

xXx

Naruto threw himself on the ground, panting a little. "This--" he declared loudly once he caught his breath. "--is so stupid. And easy."

"Then why were you panting, dobe?" Sasuke, sitting cross-legged on a tree stump, pulled out a whetstone and started to sharpen Amaterasu.

"Hey, hey, hey! That old lady was _scary_. I didn't see you trying to send her soul on, Mr. I-got-stuck-in-a-_tree_."

Sasuke coughed and ignored him as Sakura stumbled over.

"He wasn't _stuck_, Naruto, he was otherwise engaged."

"Yeah, if being stuck in a tree with a crazy man is otherwise engaged," Naruto snickered, rolling on to his stomach. "At least this konso stuff isn't boring."

"Well we know who's holding us back from a real mission, at any rate," Sasuke snarked.

"Teme!"

"Oh my _god_, Naruto, shut up!" Sakura looked to be at her wit's end. "We get it! You think Sasuke is a bastard! You really don't have to remind us every - time - you open - your mouth."

A wide grin spread across Naruto's face. "Sakura-chan listens to me!"

She almost thought she heard an amused 'hn' from Sasuke, but that must have been her imagination. Something she'd learnt after six months was that Sasuke didn't _do_ amused.

She frowned, dropping as gracefully as possible to the ground. It had been a whole six months now. That was half a year, and it felt like nothing had changed. Naruto was still an idiot, Sasuke was still _so_ cool, and Sakura's forehead was as big as ever. It felt more like things hadn't changed, but _shifted_. Like her world had just tilted a little to the right or something.

She shook her head. Why couldn't things just be _simple_? Sakura decided with a little huff that she hated growing up. She shouldn't have to - at a hundred and twenty seven years of age, she was as grown up as she needed to be.

"Yo." Kakashi wandered over, late as usual. "You lot done?"

"Don't sound so annoyed!" Sakura demanded. Okay, so maybe that had changed. Six months ago she wouldn't have dared to speak to a vice-captain like that, but half a year's exposure to Hatake Kakashi messed with your brain. "We would have been faster if you'd actually helped."

He beamed at her, visible eye creasing. "But that's why I have you guys, Sakura. So I don't _have _to do--" A sudden frown wiped away the smile as he cut himself off, placing a hand to his ear and the headset there. "Yes?"

"Oi!" Naruto jumped to his feet. "Kakashi-sensei, don't be rude to Sakura."

"Shut up, Naruto," Kakashi responded absently, turning around. Surprisingly enough, the blond's mouth clicked shut. "How close? Right. All three of them? You're sure? No, no, it sounds fairly routine, but get Ukitake-taichou to set a senkaimon up just in case." His eye rolled. "Of course."

Sasuke was staring at Naruto, who still hadn't opened his mouth. "You have to teach me how to do that," he murmured to Kakashi.

He was summarily ignored. "We've got a mission," the man announced. "Turns out you guys didn't move fast enough, and the Hollows caught a taste of the souls collecting here. Communications says that there aren't many, but they tend to screw things up, so be on your guard."

In the distance, a Hollow scream split the air. Sakura scrambled to her feet and ripped Yami Sakura from the sheath, trying to ignore Sasuke's much smoother movements and taking comfort in Naruto's fumbling for Koyote.

_:All right! Hollows, watch out, Sakura and Sakura are going to beat you to the _ground.:

_:Shut up, Yami.:_

xXx

"I thought you said this was _routine!_" Sakura yelled at her teacher, leaping into the air and bringing her sword down on a Hollow mask. She struggled to stay in the air and not drop into the river below her - it was swollen with the recent rain and looked uncomfortable, if not dangerous, to land in.

There was an enraged scream behind her and she whipped around only to find that Naruto had already disposed of the monster.

"Got your back, Sakura-chan!" he cried happily, bounding off with his shuriken in tow - both of her team mates had activated shikai as soon as it appeared that routine was a myth invented by Comms to kill off unsuspecting rookie officers.

"I told you Comms had a tendency to screw up," Kakashi replied, ridiculously calm as he fought the biggest of the bunch.

Sakura stabbed through another mask. "I hate you, Kakashi-sensei!" She shrieked a little, dodging left as mutant claws cut the air where she had been standing. Not quite fast enough, one of them tore through uniform and skin, leaving an unsightly, if shallow, gash on her left arm. She swore inwardly and grit her teeth against the pain. Moments later the Hollow was engulfed in particularly savage flames. A hand was placed briefly on her shoulder to make sure she was all right, and then Sasuke was off again, slicing through Hollows like he did it every day. Sakura was too stunned at the feel of his hand on her to think of an adequately beautiful metaphor.

_:He touched me!:_

_:Yeah, and so did the _Hollow_. Shikai, Sakura! Lemme at 'em!:_

_:Shikai?: _Sakura spun and tried to skewer the Hollow's mask only to have her blade skitter off. "Damn it!" _:Yami, shikai is _useless_. Do you know how close I'd have to get to those monsters to do any damage at all?: _This time, she managed to pierce the mask.

Yami sniffed, flipping green hair over her shoulders as pink eyes narrowed in her black inner world. _:That's why you're fast. And don't blame me, it's not _my_ fault you haven't figured out how to use me properly.:_

_:I…wait, what?:_

There was a fine mist rolling in from the east, Sakura noticed as she demolished another Hollow. "Great. Just…great."

xXx

"Oi, dobe." Sasuke flash-stepped over to Naruto. He frowned slightly - had he slowed down? - before turning his attention to the blond. "What's your count."

"Four already, bastard!" Naruto cried, swiping his hand out in front of him to direct his shuriken in a whirlwind around a particularly nasty number Five. "Eat that!"

"Hn." Sasuke directed his own hand of flames to decimate a possible number Six. "I'm on eight."

"Eh?"

He twisted and killed another. "Nine."

"Bastard!"

Sasuke frowned, throwing out his hands and spinning in a circle to create a tornado of flames. His frown deepened - he was moving even slower now, and this was _not_ the place to be losing his form. _Ten…Elev--_

A huge explosion interrupted his thought process. Sasuke whipped around to see Naruto standing smug in the middle of a massive crater.

"That's eleven, bastard!"

_Shit._ Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Sakura trailing kidou and spots of blood, sword entirely sheathed now. "She needs to move faster," he muttered under his breath, skewering another Hollow.

"Are you kidding me?" Naruto was at his back, shuriken streaming out from him. "I can barely see her!"

"Wh--" His eyes seemed to zoom in her, and like it was in slow-motion he watched her head snap back and jerk up to the sky as it ripped open.

"The hell is that?" Naruto yelled.

"Menos!" Sakura cried, shoving a fistful of kidou into a Hollow's face. "K-Kakashi-sensei, it's a Gillian!"

"Shit," Sasuke muttered out loud, to be echoed by Naruto.

"She's too close!" the blond exclaimed. "Sakura, get out of the - oh, screw this." He flash-stepped towards the girl, actually managing to go in the right direction for once as Kakashi went over his head towards the Menos that toppled out of the sky. Sasuke got his act into gear and destroyed a nearby Hollow as Naruto yanked the girl out of the air.

The fog that had rolled in thickened as Kakashi drew closer to the Menos, but Sasuke found he could keep his eyes on the vice-captain fairly easily.

"Shidou!" the masked man called. _Conduct_. Sasuke realised abruptly that he was about to see a vice-captain level shikai. "Shirokarasu!"

The grey-wrapped katana buckled out into a three pronged trident as clouds drew in and lightning sparked from the sky to dance around the trident.

"…Whoa," Naruto breathed. Sasuke blinked, realising that he'd made his way over to his team mates. Strange. He hadn't thought he'd been running all that fast.

"Naruto," Sakura growled. "If you don't get your hands off me _right now_, I will chop them _off_."

"Sakura-chan!" the idiot whined. Behind him, a set of independent shuriken whirled through a Hollows mask, reminded Sasuke that they still had monsters to kill.

"Uh…but thanks for saving me," the pink-haired girl said suddenly, apparently remembering.

"Heh. No problem! C'mon, let's kill some more of these suckers!"

Sasuke ripped though another Hollow mask as Naruto cast about for something else to kill. The horde seemed to have thinned out a bit with the arrival of the Gillian - it was well known that Menos' like to chew on other Hollows.

He noticed Sakura's shiver, even though she was a good ten metres away at that stage.

"I suddenly feel really cold," she whispered, before firing off another kidou shot at an errant Hollow. "I think…guys, I think there's something really powerful out here. And it's not the Menos."

"If it's not the Menos, we hardly need to worry about it, do we?" Sasuke replied, eyeing the area carefully nonetheless. The leaves shifted restlessly in the trees, the sudden silence of the area broken only by the sounds of Kakashi's battle above. Lightning cracked, and Sasuke silently thanked the gods that it wasn't raining.

"Still…I think--"

"There's a kid in there!" Naruto cried suddenly.

Sasuke blinked. "What?"

"In the river! There's a kid in the river! Shit, she's not gonna make it!" And without further ado, the blond flash-stepped off, zigzagging a little drunkenly, but still headed for the general direction of the river, shuriken streaming after him.

Sakura buckled at the knees suddenly, gasping for air. Her uninjured arm clutched at the gash on her left forearm. "Naruto! "

Sasuke didn't hear the rest of what Sakura said. In the space of a single second, it all drew in his mind; his eyes zeroed in on the child tossing about in the river - it was a boy - and the spike in spiritual power accompanied by the suddenly _very visible_ Huge Hollow confirmed it.

Naruto was heading straight for a trap.

Without thinking, Sasuke flash-stepped forward, eyes centred on the smear of orange obi so as not to lose track of the idiot. He was faster than Naruto, but the blond was taking larger steps than him, and he obviously couldn't see the Hollow dangling the kid through the river. Sasuke didn't waste energy on wondering _why _Naruto hadn't spotted the monster, but rather concentrated on how he was going to stop the thing from killing his friend.

Even his use of the word _friend _didn't throw him off for more than a second.

A crucial second, as it turned out. If Sasuke hadn't stumbled over his own feet in his surprise at the realisation that Naruto was a friend, maybe he would have made it in time. Maybe he wouldn't have seen the large spikes arcing towards that friend and known there was nothing he could do to stop them in time.

Maybe…maybe he wouldn't have had to have leapt in front Naruto.

Sasuke took the hit, and crumpled.

xXx

Lightning cracked overhead and then silence roared in Naruto's ears as he stared down in shock at Sasuke.

"What's with that face, moron?" the other boy croaked as the spikes withdrew from his body. Amaterasu rolled from his hand and stopped flaming.

"Wh-wh--" he stuttered, suddenly all too aware of the Hollow looming over them. He was too stunned to make any attempt to protect himself, but for some reason the monster didn't attack. "What? _Why?_"

_Loser, what the hell was that?_

_Don't kiss me! Gross!_

_Idiot._

_Empty your mind._

_Tch. Dobe._

_C'mon. You'll never get any better if you don't practice._

_Usuratonkachi. _

_It works better if you empty your mind._

"Che. How should I know?" Sasuke coughed blood, trying to push himself into a sitting position and failing miserably. "Heh. I hated you."

Naruto shook his head angrily, ignoring the sudden tears. "I - I never asked for your help!" he yelled into the awful silence. "Why? Why did you do that?"

It took the other boy a long time to summon up the energy to speak again.

"I don't know," Sasuke rasped finally. "My body…just moved on its own."

Eyes darkened from red to black - _he had Sharigan?--_

"My brother…I told myself…I wouldn't die until I killed him." Blood bubbled at his lips. "D-don't die…don't die as well."

_-- _and finally, slipped shut.

"Well. Wasn't that a touching scene?"

Naruto glanced up, rage boiling in his gut as his shuriken rose in a wave behind him. Wind stirred at his feet, picking up dead leaves as in the corner of his mind, a red eye cracked open.

_:Naruto.:_

_:I'll kill it!:_

_:Naruto!:_

_:Shut up, I'll kill it!:_

"I've watched a lot of people die, _boy_, but I don't think I've ever seen someone sacrifice himself like that." The voice was oily, sliding through Naruto's rage and stabbing at his guilt. "Sharingan, eh? He must have been able to see me. Must have known how close I was to killing you. And he jumped in anyway? Hmm. Very impressive."

"Shut up!"

_I__ hated you too!_

_:You can't kill it, Naruto. Not even for pack, you're not strong enough. The brat told you not to die, so don't--:_

_**:I will do it.:**_

A third voice entered the fray and Naruto grasped at it eagerly, warping his killing rage into a weapon fit to be used, strong enough to rip, to tear, to kill--

"Was that the first death of a friend? Oh, such a shame. But…I do so _love_ playing with my food before I eat it."

_I won't forgive you._

The presence in his gut unwrapped, a tail stabbing out from the corner of his mind to wind through the trees and envelope the Village.

_:Naruto!:_

_I won't forgive you!_

"I'll kill you!" he screamed, and threw himself at the Hollow.

xXx

Kakashi had won the battle with the Menos, but Sakura knew there was another battle raging much closer to home. She had already killed the last few straggling Hollow and now worried at her bottom lip, ignoring the throb of the wound on her forearm and straining to see her team mates through the clearing fog.

"I'll kill you!"

The words echoed though the area, bouncing off the river. Tainted reiatsu spilled through the air, mixing with Naruto's.

_:I need - I need to see! I need to get closer!:_

_:Don't.: _Yami's voice was oddly serious. _:We're not strong enough to get involved in this battle, Sakura.:_

The fog cleared further. Sakura squinted, taking one flash-step further forward to get a better view. Despite the hulking shadow and eerie red light, the first thing Sakura set eyes on was the log near--

It wasn't a log.

It wasn't a _log!_

"No!" The word was ripped from her throat. She hadn't even been aware that she'd opened her mouth. "Sasuke-kun!"

"Sakura?"

Kakashi. Kakashi-sensei. He'd fix this. He had to fix this. Mutely, she pointed, hand shaking, at the scene in front of her.

Kakashi took one look at it and swore, grabbing her by the shoulders.

_His bandana has gone_, she noticed, getting a tad hysterical. _He has the Sharingan? I didn't know he had the Sharingan, and I know everything. How did he get the Sharingan?_

"Sakura. Sakura, listen to me. There's a senkaimon set up by the bridge. I've already sent for reinforcements." _He looks really tired. I wonder what it's like, killing a Menos? I bet I'll never kill a Menos. _"Here." The man fumbled with his earpiece and thrust it into her numb hands. "Use this to keep them updated on what's happening. Wait by the senkaimon, there's a no-go zone set up there, you'll be safe. Do you understand?"

She nodded dumbly, staring as the red glow whipped up higher, streaming towards the Hollow that had killed Sasuke.

Sasuke was dead.

"Officer Nineteen of Fifth Division!" Kakashi snapped. Sakura stood to attention instinctively. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, Hatake-fukutaichou!" she yelled back, his instructions reeling back through her mind. "Right away, sir!"

xXx

"Naruto!" Kakashi cried, running towards the brat, heart pounding in his throat. "Naruto, stop!"

He doubted the boy even heard him. Reiatsu roared red, and Kakashi had to choke down the hate as he realised he was facing the awesome power of the Kyuubi.

He concentrated instead on the Hollow, who was looking out of its depth as it was battered with reiatsu-charged shuriken. Nonetheless, it looked like it had gotten a few good hits in - a wound on Naruto's chest sullenly oozed blood.

It took him a few seconds, but the lure dangling in front of the monster jerked his memory.

"Grand Fisher!" he called. He needed to bring Naruto under control, and to do that he needed to get rid of the Hollow. He was too exhausted from the fight with the Menos to destroy this one in particular though, which required the destruction of both the lure and the mask. He would think about Sasuke later. "Do you want to die?"

"Not particularly!"

"Then leave, or I'll kill you!"

He could hear the sneer in the monster's voice as he lunged at Naruto, ignoring the unnatural heat of the boy's skin to stop him from leaping at the Hollow.

"You couldn't maim a worm in your state, shinigami. Why should I give up a perfectly good meal?"

The shuriken were falling off. With a familiar voice, hopefully Naruto was coming back to himself.

"Because reinforcements will be arriving any moment now. Because this brat here has the Kyuubi sealed inside of him. Because I am a vice-captain shinigami with bankai, and I _said_ so!"

A long pause. Abruptly, Naruto stopped glowing, and the heat of his skin ceased dramatically. Hopefully, the spirit of his zanpakutou had brought the Kyuubi under control again.

"I will kill you one day, shinigami," the Grand Fisher promised, turning in the river.

"I'm sure you'll try your very best," Kakashi replied, trying not to sag in relief as it disappeared.

He turned his full attention to Naruto in time to catch vibrant red eyes fading slowly to blue. The boy blinked once or twice and then lurched suddenly in Kakashi's arms. "Sasuke!" And then he flopped back, drained.

Kakashi's jaw clenched as footsteps quickly approached. He recognised the cool reiatsu almost immediately as Kotetsu Isane's, soon followed by Matsumoto Rangiku.

"Hatake-fukutaichou, what is the situation?" Rangiku demanded, and he took comfort in the fact that she was in charge now as Isane knelt next to Sasuke's body.

"Communications misjudged the situation. As usual. A whole nest came after the souls here, including a Menos. I killed the Menos while Uzumaki and Uchiha fought the Grand Fisher." He swallowed. "One casualty. Uchiha Sasuke, dead."

"He's not dead." Isane looked up from her examination of the body. A glow surrounded her hands as she pumped healing kidou into the brat.

Instantly, Rangiku relaxed. "You're sure?"

"Of course I'm sure, Rangiku," Isane sighed. "I wouldn't have said it, otherwise."

"Sorry." Rangiku turned to Kakashi and thwapped him over the head.

"What was that for?" he demanded.

"You're an idiot. It's a gut wound. You've had enough, you know that doesn't equate to instant death. And before you find something else to worry about, the area is secure. That Haruno girl did a good job of cleaning up after your mess."

"_My_ mess? This is Comms' fault!"

One of Naruto's eyes cracked open as more footsteps hurried over. "Not…dead?" he whispered as Sakura, face tear-swollen, stumbled into sight.

"N-Naruto!" she cried. Rangiku caught her arm before she fell to the ground.

"Hey," the woman said softly. "It's all right, kid. He's alive."

"I know he's alive! I can see him right there! B-but, S-S-Sasuke…"

Rangiku laughed, although it was a little subdued. "I meant Sasuke. It was just a gut wound, hun."

"J-_just?_"

"Uh…perhaps not just. But he's alive. And, uh…" The woman glanced at Isane, who looked up and nodded. "And he's going to stay that way."

"Really? You're serious?" Naruto made an attempt to leap into the air and fell pitifully to the ground. Sakura pushed away from Rangiku and, laughing, caught him before he hit the ground.

"He's alive, Naruto! He's alive! You're alive! We're all alive!"

Naruto started to laugh as well. "I know! I - oh, _ouch_ - I know!" He grimaced suddenly, clutching at his chest. "Oh, crap, that hurts." His eyes started to glaze over as the adrenaline rush subsided. "Sa-Sakura?"

He keeled over.

This time, it was Kakashi who start laughing.

xXx

Ukitake coughed painfully, Unohana's hands resting on his back.

"It's good you got here when you did, Jyuushiro." Healing kidou raised a glow around her fingertips as she worked on his lungs.

"It's thanks to Kuchiki-san," the Captain responded, smiling softly at his Division member. She was anxiously perched on a chair, eyes rather unfocused. "Retsu," he began deliberately, hoping to catch Rukia's attention. "How is Uzumaki Naruto's condition?"

It worked. The girl stilled, trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to draw attention to herself.

Unohana sighed softly. "You know that's confidential, Jyuushiro." Rukia slumped a little. "However, if I were to say, talk to myself a little too loud...what is to stop someone from overhearing?"

Ukitake chuckled slightly at his friend's words, before the effort forced him to start coughing again.

"Uzumaki received a deep stab wound to the chest, suffered severe reiatsu depletion and is currently unconscious. However, his condition has stabilized and I am expecting him to wake up in a little while. It is extremely unlikely that he will suffer further because of his injuries."

Ukitake kept his eyes on Rukia's face as he spoke to Unohana. "Is he able to receive visitors?"

"I can't see why not. It might even be rather beneficial."

Rukia tore her eyes away from Unohana to her Captain. He tilted his head towards the door.

"Go on, Kuchiki-san. It'd do you some good to stretch your legs after kindly waiting with your sickly taichou, don't you think?"

She simply stood, wide-eyed, before stuttering a hasty 'thank you' and rushing to the door. After it slid shut behind her, Unohana walked around her friend to face him.

"Faking an attack so you could check up on the boy, Jyuushiro?" She shook her head, a sad smile on her face. "I think we need a better system, don't you?"

xXx

"You really are an idiot."

The words were a whisper as Rukia sat next to Naruto's bed. The blond was unconscious and wrapped in bandages. She shook her head. "You were showing off again, didn't you?"

Sighing, she leaned a little closer. "I'm sorry I wasn't there." _No. That__'__s not enough._ "I'm sorry I haven't been there at_ all_."

She paused as though waiting for him to respond.

"I miss you, baka." Another pause. "Tell anyone that and I'll kill you."

There was another stretch of silence, and she leaned forward so that her elbows were resting on her knees. "I hear you're doing well in Fifth though." The corners of her mouth turned into a mischievous smile. "Hinata-san told me, actually." She allowed her voice to drop a little. "I think she _likes_ you Naruto. You probably have no idea though."

The smile faded a little and she leaned back.

"This is less fun when you're unconscious."

A loud crash snapped her eyes away from Naruto. Renji was grasping the door frame, panting a little. "Is he okay?"

"Unohana-taichou said he'll be fine. He should wake up sometime soon." She felt a little sadder as Renji blinked, an expression of surprise on his face._ Does he really think that ill of me?_

Her old friend shook off his apparent confusion, trying a hopeful smile. "Why don't you stay?"

"You know I can't." She noted the disappointed look on his face and realised how right Kaien had been. "But if you ever want to get together sometime..." The sentence trailed off, but Renji smiled slightly at the offer.

"Rukia-chan?" The blurry sound of Naruto's voice pulled her back to reality. Her eyes shot to Renji, who nodded his understanding before she forced herself out of the room as quickly as she could. As she walked down the hall she wasn't spared the curious stare of Haruno Sakura, who was leaning against a wall as if she'd been there for some time.

_Damn it._

"Hey, Naruto!" Renji's voice rang out from the room behind her. Grateful for the distraction he would provide from her exit, she kept walking, focusing her sights on the room that Ukitake-taichou was in and ignoring the way Sakura's eyes followed her.

xXx

Sakura allowed her gaze to track Rukia until the other girl turned a corner before pushing herself off the wall and padding her way towards Naruto's room. She hadn't heard that much of Rukia's conversation with the guy she deduced was Abarai Renji, but what she had heard caught her interest.

It was a puzzle. Sakura loved puzzles.

Of course, she mused as she entered the room, right now wasn't the time for puzzles.

"Hey, Idiot." She smiled from the doorway, rubbing at her itchy forearm. The wound had been healed, but it was still irritating.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto beamed from the bed, despite the bandages all over his body. "Renji, this is Sakura-chan!"

"Yeah, I figured." The guy with tattoos and red hair remained seated as he eyed her over.

"Nice to meet you too," Sakura muttered dryly as she grabbed a chair and dragged it over to the other side of the bed. She had barely sat down when Naruto was asking her questions.

"Hey, hey Sakura-chan, how's the bastard?"

She had to concentrate on making sure her voice didn't do something stupid like shake.

"Unohana-taichou said he was messed up pretty badly...we're not allowed to see him." She paused at the dumbstruck look on Naruto's face. "He'll be okay though."

The blond's mouth had fallen open a little. "Are _you_ okay, Sakura-chan?"

"I'm fine." Her left arm raised a little lamely. "Just a scratch." There was a drawn out pause. "How are you feeling?"

The other shinigami let out an impatient sigh. "Oi Naruto--"

"Do you mind? We're talking," Sakura snarked automatically, forgetting that she didn't know the person at the receiving end of the sudden change in mood.

"Hey!" Renji's voice raised a little with irritation. "I was here first!" He leaned forward, jabbing his thumb into his chest.

Sakura leaned forward too, resting on the bed. "I'm in his Division!"

Naruto pushed himself back against his pillows. "Eheh, guys..." His attempts to calm the pair went unnoticed.

"I'm his best friend!"

"He saved my life!"

Sakura smiled smugly at her victory.

"Yeah? Well..." Renji shut his mouth stupidly and turned to Naruto. "You saved her life?"

Naruto nodded, grinning awkwardly.

"Yeah! He did." Sakura's voice softened for a moment. "Thanks again for that."

Renji scratched behind his ear. "Damn. Why did ya have to save such an annoyin' chick?"

"_Hey!__"_

"Excuse me."

All three of them froze as a soft voice rolled through the room. Unohana stood in the doorway, a calm smile on her face. "I appreciate you're...excited...to see Uzumaki-san doing so well--" the woman began as she paced over to the bed. "--but I really must insist on total quiet, for the sake of my patients." Sakura could_ feel_ the blood draining out of her face. "You understand, of course?"

"Of course!" Sakura leapt out of her chair, vaguely comforted by the fact that Naruto's idiot friend was also out of his chair. Later she'd be amused by the way Naruto was trying to desperately scramble out of his bed. "I'll see you later, Naruto." She escaped the room as quickly as she could without breaking into a run, Renji close behind her.

They both leaned against a wall.

Sakura's eyes were wide and she didn't bother turning to Renji as she spoke. "She's terrifying."

"Yeah." Renji cautiously glanced around the corner they had fled around.

"Is that to encourage people to avoid injury?" She laughed a little breathlessly. Sakura reasoned it was probably from shock.

A slight smile appeared. "Probably." He slid down the wall until he was sitting on the ground.

Sakura kept her position standing, leaning against the wall. "Sorry about back there," she said eventually. "I shouldn't have interrupted."

Renji turned to look at her. "Nah, don't worry about it. I can give him a hard time later." He offered her a more relaxed grin. "Dramatic way to meet though, Sakura."

She grinned back. "Whatever, Renji."

xXx

"Oi, teme!"

Three days since the events in the real world, and Sasuke was still in bed. Disgusting. He winced as a hyperactive blond bounced onto his hospital bed.

"Naruto, don't jump on him! Jeez, how stupid are you?"

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura ignored him. "Sasuke-kun, I bought you some chocolate! I was going to get you flowers, but Ino-pig already did that." A sniff. "How tacky."

Indeed, the hospital room was covered in flowers. Sasuke hated flowers.

He hated chocolate too, but he wasn't about to tell Sakura that. He'd just give them to Naruto when she wasn't looking or something and then accuse him of stealing them.

"Oioi, Sakura, I was sick too, y'know…"

"Yeah, but it's your fault Sasuke-kun got injured in the first place."

Sasuke winced. Like he needed to be remind of that particular moment of stupidity. Even if it had all worked out for the best.

The other two seated members - dare he say it, his _friends_ - continued to bicker good-naturedly. Or at least, he _thought it_ was good-naturedly.

Reasons aside, it was still damn annoying. Laboriously, Sasuke turned his back on them and pulled a pillow over his head. On the chair next to him, Kakashi chuckled, idly flipping a page in his book.

"I hate you," he mumbled.

"Aw, you don't mean that. You're just saying it to make me feel better."

xXx

_**An important note:**__**Feilyn**__ is about to enter a flurry of exams, and I have to do scary college things, so this might be our last update for a little while. But! Do not fear! Since there are two of us, we can drag each other through this and pester each other, and __**Feilyn**__ has put her other projects on a longer hiatus for the specific purpose of exams and being able to keep working on this one. So, really, we'll just be slowing down a little bit (as opposed to grinding to a halt.) Thank you all so much for your continued support and enthusiasm about this fic! You are collectively Wintastic. _


	6. Chapter 5

_Hey guys! It's Feilyn bringing you the chapter this time, for the simple fact that Bella finished up her half of the chapter way faster than I could, and then had to go to sleep while I stayed up until two in the morning to finish it. Actually, it's six in the morning where she is. She should be waking up soon..._

_Anyways! Our apologies on this chapter taking so long! I studied for and was nonetheless _destroyed_ by my mock exams, and Bella's had to deal with going back to uni. College. Whatever those crazy crazy Americans call it. I hope we managed to reply to all of your wonderful reviews, and if we didn't it's not because we didn't appreciate them! We're just very scatter-brained. And it feels kind of creepy using the collective 'we', but Bella and I are brain twins._

_So! Hopefully we'll manage to get another chapter out before I need to buckle down and study for my _real_ exams, but if not, we hope hope you enjoy this latest offering!_

_Actually, we hope you enjoy it anyway :P Here you go, Chapter Five of __**Ozymandias**__._

xXx

"Amazing, Jyuushiro." Unohana gently placed a hand on the other Captain's shoulder. "Once again, you have managed to find yourself in here just after Uzumaki-san has come in. I'm surprised Kuchiki-san hasn't picked up on the pattern."

Jyuushiro coughed a dry chuckle. "There are certain triggers that can't be avoided," he replied, absently brushing a hand over his mouth to check for blood. "The timing cannot be helped."

"You should be cautious," she admonished. "Kuchiki-taichou could make things difficult for his sister if he suspected something." With a sigh, she sat down in a chair opposite Jyuushiro.

Her friend bowed his head slightly. "More difficult than they are already?" There was a drawn out silence before he attempted a cheerful smile. "Kuchiki-san is doing well in my Division, Retsu. And Naruto...Naruto is doing well in Fifth."

"Of that there is no doubt," she replied gently. "But it isn't like when you could simply smuggle yourself into Rukongai while I pretended you were behind a white curtain." With a sad smile, she took his hand. "Naruto is a proud member of the Gotei Thirteen, Jyuushiro, just like his parents. In the last three years he's gone from twentieth seat to seventeenth, and he has made good friends. You don't need to leave packets of ramen and water for him and his friends anymore."

He raised his eyes to meet hers and smiled a sad smile. "I know. But he is my responsibility." His gaze dropped again and her eyes softened. "It is my fault that Kushina went after the Kyuubi. If not for me, Naruto would have had a mother."

Unohana squeezed his hand. "Jyuushiro," she began, not quite knowing what to say. "Jyuushiro, you know there is nothing you could have done to stop Kushina." _God, I miss that girl._ "She was an unstoppable force." A slight smile tugged at her lips at the memory of the red-haired woman. "You lead the other Captains in protecting Naruto from Central Forty-Six."

"I had you as my support," he said softly. "The others came because of their love for Minato and Kushina, but they had no love for the boy."

Unohana stood and Jyuushiro's gaze followed her. "Don't condemn yourself, Jyuushiro. Naruto owes you his life. His parents would thank you for that." Her head turned at the sound of a commotion from one of the other rooms, and she frowned slightly. "I'd best ensure that Eleventh aren't bullying my healers again," she murmured, just as her sixteenth seat came running down the corridor.

"U-Unohana-taichou!" Hanatorou stuttered. "Unohana-taichou, it's Shiba-san! She – she was caught by Hollows in the real world, and Isane-fukutaichou is trying to tend to her, but—"  
"No, damnit, she's my wife! Let me see her!" The voice of Shiba Kaien was instantly recognisable. From his bed, Ukitake jerked.

"Stay where you are, please, Jyuushiro," Unohana told him. She opened her mouth to ask Hanatorou a question as they left the room, but was cut off by a loud yell.

"Let me through!"

Unohana picked up the pace. "Thank you for fetching me, Hanatorou-kun," she told the young man. "Could you please inform me of the extent of her injuries?"

"I-it's a gut wound, U-Unohana-taichou," the boy said. "Isane-fukutaichou has stemmed the flow of blood, but—"

Just as they rounded the corner, a small body pushed past. Unohana blinked, then quickly hurried to Miyako's side as Kuchiki Rukia made a mad dash towards her vice-captain. She would have preferred to insist that Kaien left, but her patients came first.

"_I'm not leaving her!_"

"Kaien-dono!" Kuchiki grabbed a hold of his arm, helping the three other medics to restrain him. "Kaien-dono! You're not helping!"

"Unohana-taichou..." Miyako whispered as the Captain of the Fourth Division took over from her vice. "Tell him...to leave? He won't...listen to me."

"Rukia! Let go!"

"Kaien-dono, you can't help her like this," Rukia insisted while Unohana worked on the injury. It appeared that claws of some sort had ripped open the woman's lower gut, slicing through the intestines at a downward angle before skewering the woman's uterus. Unohana frowned, calm demeanour slipping as the wound refused to close. "You are making it difficult for the medics to treat Miyako-san," the young girl continued.

Vaguely, Unohana was aware of Kaien slumping as his subordinate's words got through to him.

"Is he...gone?" Miyako asked weakly.

"He is leaving," Unohana replied softly, and indeed, Kaien was allowing himself to be led out of the room by Rukia. _I must thank her when this is over_.

The woman's eyes slipped shut. "Good."

"Unohana-taichou, I think the wound may be—"

"I know, Isane," Unohana cut her off gently, voice heavy. "I know." She turned to her other medics. "Shiba-san's wound is poisoned. We must stop the flow of venom before it spreads to the rest of her body."

"B-but a delay in healing her wound properly could cause irreversible damage! Sh-she wouldn't be able to h-have--" Hanatorou cut himself off, blushing profusely as he realised just how outspoken he had been.

Unohana paused, and in that silence her vice-captain answered for her.

"Sometimes, Hanatorou-kun, as a healer you must make tough decisions," Isane said softly while Unohana prepared a kidou spell to purge Miyako's blood. "In this case, it is Shiba-san's life on the line. Her body cannot handle the strain of so much healing at one time. The choice is barely a choice."

"B-but that's not fair."

"No. It's not."

Unohana did not allow herself to close her eyes in resignation. She did not allow herself to consider the if only's. She did not allow herself to wish for things to be different.

She had a life to save.

xXx

"Kuchiki-san?"

Rukia's head jerked up at the sound of Captain Unohana's voice. "Y-yes?" She had been in the waiting room ever since the all clear had come through. Her third seat would live, and now Rukia was waiting on the return of her vice-captain. She would have liked to have spent the time with Naruto, but the blonde had woken up the hour before and promptly been attacked by Haruno Sakura. Something about him being stupid.

"You may visit them now, if you wish." Collected as ever, Unohana's presence did a lot to set Rukia at ease.

"I—" She cut herself off. "It would not be...proper, for me to interrupt."

Unohana smiled. "I am sure Shiba-san will not mind, and Shiba-fukutaichou has said that he needs to thank you."

Rukia blinked, and just barely managed to reign in a Naruto-like 'Eeeeeh?'. "Thank me?" she echoed.

"For calming him down and ensuring that his wife got proper treatment," Unohana replied. "I, too, must thank you. There are many subordinates who would not dare behave in such a manner with their superiors. To know when to stand your ground is a good trait to have, Kuchiki-san."

Somehow, Rukia managed to hold back the look of sheer horror from her face. "No thanks are required, Unohana-taichou," she replied faintly. "I...think I will visit them." _I need to apologise_. She bowed to the Captain. "Thank you for saving my third seat's life."

"No thanks are required," the woman said lightly. "Shiba-san is in room five, section one-three-bee. I trust you know the way?"

"I – yes. Thank you," she said again, awkwardly leaving the older woman's presence, making her way through Fourth Division to the room Unohana had specified. Raising her hand to knock on the door, she paused, hearing voices.

"...understand if you wish to set me aside now, Kaien."

_What?_

"What? Don't be stupid!" Despite his raised voice, Kaien sounded more confused than upset. "Why would I want to do something like that?"

"It is you duty as head of the Shiba clan to provide an heir." Miyako's voice was so soft, Rukia could barely hear it. "You will not be able to fulfil that duty now with me as your wife. I—"

"Okay, stop talking," Kaien interrupted. The sound of him pacing echoed through the door. "Man, you're so dumb. I still got a sister, don't I? And a little bro. Shiba don't begin and end with me. And even if it did, I still wouldn't – what did you say? Set you aside? Jeez, what makes you think I could find another woman fool enough to want me, eh?" Rukia could just imagine him scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Nah, I think I'll keep ya."

"Kaien—"

"I said I'll keep ya, didn't I? Che. Idiot." A pause. "Oioioi, unless you don't want me anymore?" The vice-captain sounded rather panicked.

Miyako laughed. "Now who's being stupid, hmm? Incidentally..."

"Yeah? Hey, ouch! Don't hit me!"

"If you ever call me stupid again, you'll be eating boiled hay for breakfast, lunch _and_ dinner."

"Eheheh, fair enough..."

Abruptly, Rukia realised that she had been listening in on an intensely private conversation. She blushed hotly and leapt away from the door like it was about to eat her.

She could apologise later. Right then, she had to get away.

xXx

"Geez, Chouji, try leaving some for the rest of us!" Ino complained, watching with a faintly bemused look on her face as he grabbed some more meat. There was something weirdly fascinating about watching Chouji eat, something hypnotic about massive piles of food systematically disappearing...

A piece of meat vanished from her plate.

There was also something weirdly _annoying_ about going out with to eat with these three, but it had become something of a tradition after four years in Second Division. She arched her eyebrow as Asuma nodded a polite thanks, apparently oblivious to her irritation. The look was also lost on Shikamaru, whose chin rested on his hand as he stared out the window.

_Honestly._

Ino rolled her eyes and gracefully ate some of the remaining barbeque on her plate before any more could go missing. One hand absently twirled a length of long, blonde hair while the other expertly wielded a pair of chopsticks. All the while her eyes moved between the three idiots she sat with, an artfully bored expression on her face as her thoughts jumped from subject to subject.

It was too bad that eating tended to equate silence with these three though. Not that any of them were ever talkative, but still--

"Ino! Drop the meat and come with me!"

The blonde turned her head to see a jubilant Matsumoto Rangiku next to the table. Her smile widened at the sight of the Tenth Division's vice-captain, who waved gleefully at Asuma.

"Sorry, Sarutobi, but I'm kidnapping her." She didn't sound at all sorry. Actually, she sounded delighted, blue eyes twinkling as Ino slid out of her seat. Asuma just arched an eyebrow and nodded – Ino suspected that he'd learnt not to try and protest Rangiku's enthusiasm for everything a long time ago.

The older blonde winked at Ino, snagging the chopsticks from her hand and popping a piece of barbeque into her mouth before spinning round and linking her arm with Ino's. "Good to see you, boys!" Rangiku sang, one hand raised in a wave. "Oh, wait. Asuma, how's your sister? She's been back on active duty for three months now, hasn't she?" She gave a delicate shudder. "I don't know how she did it. I'd go crazy if I was stuck behind a desk for nine months."

Asuma scratched at his beard. "Aa. The wound healed messy, but she's back to beating things up again. Mostly it's Kaien, though." He took another bite of meat. "So long as it's not me, I don't care."

"Asuma-sensei has Kurenai-san to beat him up," Ino noted, flicking her fringe out of her eyes.

Rangiku blinked, then burst out laughing as Asuma choked. "Ah, you learn fast." She beamed down at Ino. "Now, we are going shopping! Celebratory shopping!"

"Shopping?" Ino let herself be lead out of the restaurant as Shikamaru performed the Heimlich manoeuvre on their vice-captain.

"Of course! You just made Fourteenth Seat! _And _you've been in the Gotei Thirteen exactly four years today, _and_ you're one of my favourite people to go shopping with." Rangiku glanced at Ino. A thought seemed to strike her and she stopped suddenly, pressing a hand to Ino's forehead. "Are you sick? You _never_ need a reason to shop."

Ino laughed a little. "Of course not, Matsumoto-san." She pulled the other woman's hand off her forehead and smiled as they resumed walking. "Today has just been intense."

"Intense, eh?" A flirtatious tone affected Ran's words and Ino rolled her eyes melodramatically. "Not more boy drama?"

"No, not more boy drama. Unfortunately." Ino swivelled on her heel as Rangiku turned into a shop. "Just promotion and lots of fighting." She expertly tossed her hair over her shoulder. "All the while looking stunning, of course."

"Of course," Ran agreed, grabbing an array of items of the rack and flinging them towards Ino, who moved unquestioningly towards the changing rooms. "Try the purple first!" Rangiku called. "You look adorable in purple!"

It was much the same as they ventured from shop to shop – silly comments and jokes, and terrifying the shop clerks. After a few hours it was dusk, and the two shinigami sat watching the sunset from a rooftop.

"Good day?" Rangiku asked.

Ino nodded happily. "Great day."

Rangiku smiled softly out at the sunset before reaching into one of her pockets. "Mm, good," she replied, lazily pulling an item from her pocket. "My, my, what's this?"

Ino turned slightly to look at Rangiku. "What?"

The older woman turned the small, brown paper wrapped item in her hand. "Oh, look! There's a note."

"Really." The corner of Ino's mouth quirked Rangiku continued to inspect the item.

"Mm-hmm." Rangiku leaned back on the roof. "Says something about the new Fourteenth Seat of Second Divi—" She pushed herself back up on her elbows. "Oh _hey_! That's you!" She grinned at Ino and tossed her the little package. "Guess you better open it then."

Ino caught the small package easily. "Matsumoto-san, you didn't have to—"

"Me?" Rangiku blinked, pointing a finger at her chest. "I didn't do anything. Just found the package."

Ino smiled at the older woman before ripping into the item, and Rangiku watched happily, pretending to snooze with one eye closed and her arms behind her head. There was a satisfying rip of paper, followed by silence. Rangiku cracked her other eye open and pushed herself up slightly to get a better look.

"It's gorgeous." A purple scarf fell loosely around Ino's hands.

Rangiku mock-frowned, twirling a finger around her own scarf. "Eh? A scarf? What a lame—" She stopped when she realised Ino was bowing to her.

"Thank you, Matsumoto-san."

"Eh? It's Rangiku!" She flapped her hands. "Ino-chan is so _formal_! Here, come cry your thanks into my bosom, not the ground!" She hauled the younger girl up into a hug.

"Mmpf! Ma - Matsumoto-san! I can't breathe!"

"It's Rangiku!"

xXx

Renji grinned as Naruto summoned all of his shuriken back into a tanto and thrust it through the Uchiha's shoulder.

"C'mon, Naruto, kick his ass!" he called. It was Fifth's seated trials and people from all over the Seireitei had come to watch the two famous - or infamous - rivals beat each other into the ground once again.

"Naruto will never beat Sasuke-kun." Haruno Sakura, who had just won her fight for Fifteenth Seat, slumped on the ground next to him.

"Che. Just cos yer in love with him, Haruno, doesn't make him any stronger," Renji shot back. "Hey!"

Sakura grinned up at him, ready to throw another clump of dirt. "Oh, is the mighty Sixth Seat afraid of getting _dirty_?"

"Yer one annoying chick, you know that?"

She threw the dirt. Renji ducked, and then choked as it hit him in the mouth anyway.

"You were saying?" She shook her head and turned back to the fight. "No matter how hard Naruto tries, Sasuke-kun will always be better than him. It's just the way it goes - Sasuke-kun has the Sharingan. From what I've read about it, and from what Sasuke-kun told me, it's extremely powerful. Just look at Kakashi-sensei. He's a fukutaichou, and he only has _one_."

Renji stared. "Yer a barrel full o' useless information, ain't ya?" He scratched his head. "Plus, wasn't Hatake-fukutaichou a genius or something before he got the Sharingan?"

Sakura sniffed. "Semantics. Here, watch. Sasuke's winning even with a wounded arm."

"Yeah, but he was stupid enough to get wounded in the first place," Renji shot back. "Naruto'll win. He has _determination_."

"So does Sasuke-kun! He's going to seek vengeance on the destroyer of his clan!"

"Yeah? Well, Naruto's gonna be sotaichou!"

"Stalemate!" Captain Aizen called from the other side of the training ground. "Naruto-kun, Uchiha-kun, I think I've come up with a solution to this rivalry."

Renji's eyebrows shot up into his hair as Sakura choked on her own saliva. The two rivals froze on the field as Aizen made his way over to them. Renji couldn't hear what he said, but neither of them looked pleased. The Uchiha crossed his arms over his chest and scowled as Naruto gesticulated wildly. Aizen, however, looked to be unmovable.

"Well?" Renji demanded as Naruto slouched over, limping slightly.

"Thirteenth Seat," he mumbled.

Renji blinked. "Oi, but that's good, ain't it? You were Fifteenth before, right?"

"Yeah, but I have to share the position with Sasuke-bastard! I'm _better_ than him!" he whined.

Sakura stared. "_Thirteenth_ Seat? The both of you?"

"Heheh, yeah. I guess it doesn't suck too much, but still. Hey, didn't you get Fifteenth?"

The pink-haired girl paled, staggering to her feet. "I need another fight," she murmured.

"Eh? But you got the Seat!"

"I thought _you_ were going to get Fourteenth!" she yelled. "God, Naruto, you ruin everything!" She left at a run towards Aizen.

Renji coughed into his fist as Naruto looked forlornly after Sakura.

"What did I do?" the blond bemoaned.

Renji clapped a hand onto his friend's shoulder. "Ya exist, by the looks o' things." He glanced over to where the pink-haired girl was entering the field to face down the new Fourteenth Seat. "Think she'll do it?"

"Che." Both boys heads swivelled around to look at Sasuke, who was absently rubbing his wounded arm. "Of course she will."

Naruto grinned, and punched Sasuke in the other arm. "First thing you've ever said that I agree with."

"You're an idiot."

"Oi! You ruined the moment! Bastard!"

"Dobe."

"I'm going to kill you!"

Renji rolled his eyes, and watched Sakura become Fourteenth Seat on his own.

xXx

Sasuke shifted and cleared his throat awkwardly, overly aware of the chaperone in the corner. Opposite him, his future wife was completely blank.

Of course she was. She was Kuchiki Rukia.

Naruto had laughed himself _sick_ when he'd learnt about this meeting.

Minutes ticked by, and Sasuke struggled for something, _anything_ to say. He couldn't deal with females at the best of times, and he certainly wasn't used to meeting girls who didn't immediately throw themselves at him.

"So...you're Twelfth Division, Kuchiki-san?" he tried. At least his superior rank in the Gotei Thirteen meant that he didn't have to use the –sama honorific.

"Thirteenth, Uchiha-san," the girl corrected succinctly, not even twitching.

_:I swear to god, the only part of her that moved was her mouth.:_

Amaterasu sighed. _:Perhaps you should pay a little more attention to her discomfort instead of your own, beloved.:_

_:Stop calling me that. I'm an avenger.:_

Another sigh. _:As you say, Sasuke.:_

"Oh. Uh, sorry." _Shit, not formal enough_. "Or...my apologies, rather."

It was just a twitch, but the girl's lip quirked slightly. She was _laughing_ at him.

"Uchiha-san keeps to himself," Kuchiki replied. "It is understandable."

Silence.

Why was she not making an _effort_? Was it really his job to sit there and generate conversation with some delicate flower of the Kuchiki clan? What would they even have in common?

"You're unseated," he said gruffly, shoving down a wince almost immediately

It took Kuchiki a moment to reply, and when she did, a hint of ice had entered her voice. "But not unskilled, Uchiha-san." A pause. "I have been training with my fukutaichou for the past five years."

"Shiba-fukutaichou?" One of the greater clans, something Sasuke remembered his father being quite bitter about.

"Yes." A little of the ice leeched out of her tone. "He is very skilled, and a good trainer." She paused again, and Sasuke could sense her hesitating about something. "Uchiha-san is in Fifth Division," she murmured finally.

In the corner, the chaperone twitched slightly. _Some Kuchiki_. "I am," Sasuke replied, taking a few seconds to realise that he should probably supply her with the same information she'd given him. "We work a lot with Kakashi – uh, Hatake-fukutaichou."

Kuchiki's lips twitched up into a definite, if fleeting smile. "We?"

"Hmm? Oh, uh...Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto." He bit back the instinctive 'dead last'. "We joined Fifth Division at the same time and often take missions together."

"I know," the girl replied, then blinked as if she had said something she didn't mean to. "My clan has instructed me on a great deal to do with Uchiha-san," she covered smoothly.

Sasuke's jaw tightened. _And I don't have a clan to do that same, right?_ He stood abruptly. "I have an appointment."

Another blink, and then he received an actual expression from her – a frown. "Have I offended Uchiha-san?" she asked, and she sounded almost _annoyed_.

Naruto's voice barged into his head, as Naruto's voice had a tendency to do. _'Eheheh, you don't want to piss Rukia-chan off. She's _scary_ when she's mad – scary like Sakura-chan! _Worse_, because she's nowhere near as cute!'_

"I have an appointment," he repeated tonelessly, trying not to panic. "With my taichou. For training. I'm an avenger."

"So I've heard," the girl replied, and her tone gave _nothing_ away. "You'd best go, then."

His eyes widened, but he nodded sharply, eager for the chance to escape. The chaperone followed him out of the room, and Kuchiki very politely waited until he could at least _pretend_ he couldn't hear her before bursting into laughter.

xXx

"Eh?"

Naruto blinked, going cross-eyed as a Hell Butterfly landed on his nose. He was off-duty and wandering aimlessly around in one of the middle districts of the Rukongai, trying to find a ramen place he remembered visiting decades before with Rukia and Renji. He figured he should probably pay them back for that food they stole.

The Hell Butterfly fluttered a little as it delivered Kakashi's message. _"Naruto, there's a riot in the Seventy Eighth district. Members of Thirteenth have gone to settle it down, but they're going to need back up. I'll be there with Sasuke and Sakura as well soon, but don't wait for us."_

"Aw, man. But it's my day off!" Naruto moaned. Nonetheless, he flash-stepped further out into the Rukongai – the way to Seventy Eighth was so permanently engraved his mind that he'd even done it in his sleep once or twice.

The place was a mess when he got there. Screaming and yelling, masses of people doing their best to kill each other with whatever was at hand. Usually, the Seireitei just ignored the Rukongai riots, but every decade or so there was one big enough that the shinigami had to get involved.

Despite the fact that he was going to become the Captain Commander and make everything better for the people in the Rukongai, sometimes Naruto _really_ didn't like where he came from.

"Oi! It's Uzumaki, right?" A guy who Naruto vaguely recognised as Thirteenth's vice-captain flash-stepped over. "Help Kuchiki get the kids outta here. Stupid brats are trying to get involved."

"Yes, sir!" The words rolled over in his mind and Naruto did a double take. "Eh? Kuchiki Rukia?"

The vice flashed him a grin. "Probably not the best time for a catch up, kid, but that's the one. Now get to work."

Naruto jumped through the crowd, picking up kids haphazardly as he went along - it was kind of difficult, because he could only grab one in each arm, and by the time he got them out of the mess, the children he'd dropped off before had disappeared.

"Aw, this is hopeless!" he cried, kicking the wall and ducking under some guy's fist before he got his head smashed in.

"Usuratonkachi."

"Teme!" It was a reflex, an instant reaction to hearing that stupid insult. Naruto let it slip before he even realised that it wasn't Sasuke who had spoken. He spun on his heel, flabbergasted. "Eh? Rukia-chan?"

She was standing there with a weird sort of look on her face and a kid under arm, kind of smirking at him in the same way she used to, but also looking really, _really_ uncomfortable.

"Oi, nee-san. Is this the part where ya kiss or somethin'?" The kid she was holding looked both bored and pissed off. "Can ya at least put me down?"

"Shut up, Konohamaru," Rukia sighed as Naruto spluttered. "If you had just stayed behind the kidou barrier, I wouldn't have to be carrying you about."

"Hey, it's not my fault it was so easy to get outta there! Ya shoulda made a stronger thingy if you wanted to keep _Konohamaru_ out. I'm the next sotaichou! Yer problem if you underestimate me."

"Eh? No way! You mean you can use kidou to keep the brats in one place?" Naruto exclaimed. "Rukia-chan is so smart. Except I'm still kinda bad at kidou, so..." He trailed off, taking in what the kid had said. "Oi! Whadya talkin' about, kid? _I'm_ gonna be the next sotaichou!"

"Nuh uh!"

"Yah huh!" Naruto looked back to Rukia, seeking confirmation. "Tell him, Rukia!"

"Uzumaki, Kuchiki! Quite flirting and get back to work! These kids aren't gonna look after themselves!"

Naruto choked again as Rukia _blushed_, of all things. "Y-yes, Kaien-dono!" She jerked her head. "Come on. I've set up a Mirror Door barrier to keep the children safe. Well." She glanced down at Konohamaru. "The children without reiatsu, at least. I'll just tie this one up."

"What? Nah, nah, ya can't do that!" Konohamaru yelped as they dodged around people wielding bats to pick up two more children. The riot seemed to be calming down some – at least most of the people were no longer using broken bottles. "I'll be good, promise! Just don't tie me up!"

"Konohamaru-kun?" One of the kids Naruto was carrying spoke up, blushing. "Is that you?"

"Moegi! They got you too, huh?"

"I'm sorry, Konohamaru-kun." The girl flumped.

"Hey, we're saving your lives!" Naruto protested. "Be a little grateful!"

"We're the Konohamaru Corps!" the little girl – Moegi – cried. "We don't need rescuing!"

"The people trying to kill each other down there beg to differ," came a vaguely pissed-off voice. "Dobe, move a little faster, would you?"

"Teme!" Naruto yelled again, and this time he got it right. He was about to yell something else when he caught sight of Sasuke. Covered in children. "Heh. Heheheh. Nevermind. Oi, _Rukia_, it's your _fiancé_," he laughed. The blond turned around, only to find that Rukia had disappeared. "Eh?"

"Naruto!" Sakura tapped her foot angrily from where she'd set up some sort of kidou barrier – probably the same thing Rukia had been going on about. "Hurry up!"

"Sure thing, Sakura-chan!" he called back, grinning widely.

"Wow, you really do what she says, huh?" Moegi said.

"Eheh, well, Sakura-chan gets angry when I don't do what she wants, and Sakura-chan is _scary_ when she's mad," Naruto replied, ducking as Sakura made to thwap him over the head, and then crying out as the backhand got him. Six years in the same Division, and he still hadn't learned. "Sakura-chan!"

"Get the children, Naruto. Kakashi-sensei and Shiba-fukutachiou are going to handle the riot now, and they don't want any of more of them getting run over."

"M-more?" Naruto stuttered. Sakura's face was grim as she nodded out to the dead and dying. Adults and children alike who had been beaten stabbed or simply trampled. Naruto blanched, and without further word dropped the children he'd picked up and ran for more. Silently, Sasuke slipped after him as dark clouds suddenly drew in over the Seventy Eighth district. Lightning cracked – Kakashi had released his zanpakutou.

However, instead of a rain of fire falling on the rioters, it started to _actually_ rain – hard. Water fell in buckets as the three members of Fifth Division worked with the other shinigami to drag the wounded under shelter and protect the children.

"I don't get it," Naruto said squinting up at the sky. "I thought Kakashi-sensei's zanpakutou controlled lightning."

"It does."

"Gyah!" Naryto jumped. "Rukia-chan!"

Rukia was as soaked as the rest of them, although looking nowhere near as uncomfortable with it. She carried Konohamaru by the scruff of his neck again, the kid's arms held back in a Restrain kidou. "Kaien-dono's Nejibana can control water," she explained. "But there were no clouds, so he needed Hatake-fukutaichou to call a storm."

Konohamaru was looking around the area in awe as the riot dispersed. "So _cool_."

"What're you doing with the kid, Rukia-chan?" Naruto asked, scowling at the brat.

"He broke out of the Mirror Door again," she replied. "It's relatively easy to break from the inside, if one has strong enough reiatsu. He was trying to save one of his friends." She looked down at the kid. "Udon, was it?"

"Yeah, and I would've too, if you hadn't grabbed me," he mumbled, before looking over at Naruto. "You saved him, though. Thanks."

"Eheh. Not a problem, kid. It's my job. After all." He jabbed a thumb at his chest. "I'm gonna be the next sotaichou!"

He waited for the kid's protest, but it never came. Instead, he found Konohamaru scowling up at him. "Yeah, maybe," he said finally.

Naruto grinned. "Hah! See, Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme, Konohamaru thinks I can do it!"

"He's a Rukongai brat," came Sasuke's cool reply.

Rukia blinked, and Naruto winced, hiding behind Sasuke as _that_ look came over her face. "As am I, Uchiha-san," she replied coolly.

"Hey, what's this?" Shiba Kaien strolled up, closely followed by Kakashi. The vice-captain of Thriteenth peered down at Konohamaru before looking back up at Rukia. "Bit young for you, don't you think, Kuchiki?"

"Kaien-dono!"

"Oi, nee-san, who's this?" the kid demanded. "He looks kinda stupid."

"Konohamaru-kun!" Rukia turned to her superior. "Kaien-dono, I'm sorry, he's—"

Shiba burst out laughing. "What's your name, squirt?"

"Konohamaru. She just said it."

"Yeahyeahyeah, I mean your full name. You're speaking to a fukutaichou of the Gotei Thirteen, you gotta be formal about these things."

"_You're_ a fukutaichou?" The kid's voice was flatly disbelieving. "Can you take this thing of me then?" He nodded at the Restrain.

"Tell me your full name."

"Take this thing off me!

"Tell me your full name!"

"_Kaien_-dono!" Rukia was glaring. From behind Sasuke, Naruto whimpered. "There are injured people here! We shouldn't be wasting time _arguing_, we need to get Fourth here!"

"Oi, nee-san!" Konohamaru scowled. "He's a fukutaichou of the Gotei Thirteen! You gotta be formal about these things."

Kaien laughed again, then sobered, turning back to Rukia. "I sent for Fourth before Kakashi-kun and I released our zanpakutou. They'll be here soon." He punched her shoulder. "You know me better than that."

Silence.

"_Now_ can you let me go?"

xXx

Strolling in, late as always, Kakashi looked around the bar. The usual crowd was there and they all looked strangely bored. He tilted his head to the side and moseyed over to Rangiku, who was apparently asleep on the table. Kakashi slid in the chair next to her and opened his mouth to greet her before being drowned out by a louder voice.

"Yeah yeah yeah!" Kaien exclaimed happily, laughing at something Miyako had just said. "Konohamuru-kun is awesome, eh Miyako?"

"He is," she agreed happily.

Glancing around the table, Kakashi realised that the only people who didn't look bored out of their minds were Kurenai and Asuma, and that was most likely because they were talking to to each other instead of paying attention to the rest of the table. He sighed quietly and, resting an elbow on the table, reached for Rangiku's sake dish.

"Don't you dare."

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask and laid his head next to the sake so he was looking at Rangiku. "Did you say something?"

"No. I'm asleep." Her voice was rather muffled by her arms and the blonde hair draped over her face.

"Ah, I see." Kakashi sat back up and reached for her dish again. "Then you won't mind me drinking a little." He beamed as she glared at him from under her hair, determined not to move and reveal her consciousness.

Another peal of laughter escaped Miyako, with Kaien almost doubled over the table. Kakashi's eyebrow rose lazily at the sight as his best friend shook with laughter and sat up, only to slump against his wife."What are they laughing about?" he asked Rangiku in hushed tones.

"Konohamaru," she groaned into her arms. "Always Konohamaru."

"All right! Enough already!" Anko's voice cut through the laughter. The sound of her palms slamming onto the table almost made Kakashi jump, but as it was he just twisted in his seat. "Just _adopt _him already! Jeez."

She rolled her eyes and slumped back into her chair, throwing back some vodka. Silence followed her outburst, Kaien and Miyako staring at one another as they absorbed Anko's words. Kakashi was distracted from their interaction, however, by more loud laughter. He glanced at the doorway as Captains Isshin and Shunsui entered the bar. Shunsui's prissy vice-captain rushed in behind them, a ruler in hand, and Kakashi chuckled as she smacked Shunsui with it for some presumably inappropriate comment.

Isshin bounded to the table as Shunsui bemoaned the injury to his hand. "Are you all ready for the magnificence of the Weekly Beard Bonanza?" He flexed into three and a half different poses, summoning the bemused attention of everyone crowded around the table. Well, almost everyone.

"Rangiku-chan!" he bemoaned, face falling to the ground. "You aren't watching!"

"I'm sleeping," came the insistent reply, and Kakashi chuckled again.

Stepping up to the table, Nanao gave the sigh of one long suffering. "The rules are as follows," she said tonelessly, wearing the same look of irritation as every previous week that Shunsui had coerced her into doing this. "In order to decide who has the most--" she stared at the piece of paper Shunsui had handed her, and turned to glare at him for a moment. "-- the most Beautiful and Philosophical beard, I will measure to see whose has grown the most this week."

She placed a file that Kakashi knew was already full of number and graphs on the table. To the casual observer these might look like figures related to the financial affairs of the Division, but to those in the know these were far more important than that; these were the numbers that recorded the beard growing contest that had been going on for longer than anyone – especially Nanao – cared to remember. Straightening her glasses, the vice-captain raised a ruler.

"Vicious lies!" Isshin exclaimed, leaping back from the table accusingly. "Shunshui cheated!"

The Eighth Division Captain chuckled and placed a hand on Nanao's shoulder as he sipped some sake. "My my, Isshin, it's not my fault if Nanao-chan is loyal to her Captain-- ow!" Shunsui whimpered as Nanao stalked away, ruler still in hand.

"I do not condone cheating," she muttered peevishly, stalking out of the bar.

"A rematch!" Isshin demanded loudly. "Rangiku-chan, you measure this time!"

"No."

xXx

"Hello, Ino!" A middle-aged woman with short, dark hair came through the door toting a brown paper bag. "It's good to see you looking so well. How are you, my dear?"

"Haruno-san!" Ino smiled in recognition. "Good, thank you," she replied politely, walking around the counter and drying her hands on her apron. "How are you?"

"Oh good, good." The woman smiled again, and there was an expectant pause. "How... are you finding the Gotei Thirteen?"

"Great!" Ino said with a little too much enthusiasm. "I'm, uh, Ninth Seat now, after seven years." Silence stretched again for a moment, threatening to become awkward when Ino remembered herself. "Um, how can I help you today?"

Sakura's mother smiled anew. "Well, it's Sakura's birthday tomorrow and I was hoping I could get her a nice bouquet – something pretty, you know?"

Ino nodded. "Of course, Haruno-san, it'd be my pleasure!" _Lies. _She beamed and set to gathering flowers. She might not have been Sakura's friend anymore, but she still knew what the girl liked, and customer satisfaction came first. At least, that's what she told herself. Iris was one of Sakura's favourites and made it into every years birthday bouquet, coupled with whatever flower Ino had that went with it best.

_Well. She has no idea anyway,_ Ino mused, skillfully grabbing complimentary flowers and pulling them together.

"Oh, that's beautiful," Sakura's mother commented as the bouquet took shape, and Ino flashed her a smile which slipped away the moment the blonde returned her attention to the flowers. Dealing with Haruno-san was always awkward. There were inevitably questions about how Sakura was going, and if she'd seen Sakura, and what she thought of Sakura's other friends. Occasionally Ino suspected that maybe Sakura's mother didn't know about the spectacular blow out they'd had years ago. Or maybe she'd just forgotten.

The bell heralded the entrance of another person to the flower shop, but Ino didn't look up. "I'll be right with you!"

"No rush, Ino-chan." The blonde glanced up at the voice to see Rangiku happily inspecting a bucket of sunflowers. Ino smiled, and let her gaze shift to Sakura's mother. The smile became only slightly tense, and she kept it firmly in place as she wrapped the flowers and tied them with a red ribbon.

"There. How's this?"

"Perfect, Ino! Thank you so much. How much do I owe you?" The woman began rummaging for her purse.

"No, don't worry about it," Ino shrugged awkwardly. "On the house." She saw the woman start to protest, and shook her head ever so slightly. "Seriously, don't worry about it."

Ino's gaze flickered slightly. Rangiku might look like she was happily sniffing tulips and roses, but odds were she was carefully listening to the conversation.

She listened absently to Sakura's mother's thanks, quietly observing the woman's movements and her expressions, and marvelling at how totally different Sakura was from her.

_No shock there_, she commented to herself, keeping her smile fixed on her face as she handed the bouquet to Haruno-san. "Have a great day," she added, watching as the woman waved and exited the shop.

"You all right over there?" Rangiku's voice jerked her out of the reverie she hadn't noticed herself slip into. The vice-captain was leaning over the counter, tugging at Ino's apron.

"I'm fine," Ino replied lightly, pulling the apron over her head and grabbing keys from behind the counter. She strolled past Rangiku and locked the door – watching the shop for the day was _done. _The sign was flipped to 'Closed' and the lights were turned off before she turned to Rangiku.

"Can you give me a moment, Rangiku-san? I need to grab my uniform."

"Sure sure," the older woman replied, running her fingers over the petals of the flowers displayed on the counter. "Just let me know when you're ready, Ino-chan."

Ino disappeared into the back room, throwing off the clothes she usually wore when she worked in her parents' flower shop and grabbing her uniform and zanapakutou. Uniform, sword, and scarf satisfactorily in place, Ino returned. Missing the other shinigami, she looked around. "Rangiku-san?"

"Mmmm?"

Walking around the counter, Ino found Rangiku stretched out on the floor, one arm acting as a pillow as she lay on her side. Ino grinned down at her. "Rangiku-san, we need to get back to the barracks."

"But I'm comfy," the older woman pouted. "You took so long, Ino-chan..."

An eyebrow arched. "I took five minutes."

"Five minutes of _excellent_ naptime."

Ino just crossed her arms and waited, and after a few moments Rangiku sat up with a huff. "Ino-chan is so cold to me!"

The younger blonde laughed and offered a hand to Rangiku to help haul her up. Rangiku took the hand, and almost succeeded in pulling Ino down to join her on the ground. Almost. As it was Ino stumbled slightly before she grabbed onto the counter.

"Fine, fine, we'll go." With a long suffering sigh Rangiku allowed Ino to help her up. "We'll go for a walk, hm?"

"I'm meant to go straight to training with Shikamaru and Chouji," Ino began. "Soi Fon-taichou--"

"Oh, blah." Rangiku waved a hand dismissively. "I barely see you anymore Ino-chan, you train so much!"

One side of Ino's mouth quirked in a smile as they walked out of the shop, re-locking the door behind them. "You saw me two days ago."

"Two _long_ days!" Rangiku pouted again. "And I can't even remember the last time we went shopping."

The younger blonde laughed as Rangiku's expression of tragic dismay, not really looking as they turned a corner.

"Well, maybe we can figure someth-- ow!" Ino exclaimed her surprise as something – no, someone – collided with her and almost pushed her backwards. She looked at whoever it was, mild irritation playing over her face. "Oh... Sakura." She blinked, and suddenly her mouth was twisted in a mocking smirk. "Try to watch where you're going, Forehead. Sasuke-kun likes _graceful_ girls, you know?"

"Shut up, Pig!" Sakura replied indignantly, picking up the books she'd dropped with the collision. Ino stooped down to help her, somehow managing to pick up three books and hand them to Sakura in an entirely condescending manner.

"Sakura-chan, it's good to see you!" Rangiku beamed at the pink-haired girl. "How've you been? Keeping the boys in line?"

Ino bought a hand to rest on her hip and rolled her eyes at Sakura's shy smile and blush when Rangiku spoke to her.

"Good, thank you, Matsumoto-san." Her smile relaxed a little at the mention of Naruto and Sasuke. "Yeah, Naruto's an idiot, but Sasuke is--" she stopped and shot a look at Ino. "--Sasuke-kun is great."

Ino snorted derisively. "Sure, I bet he is."

"Shut _up_, Pig!"

Rangiku glanced between the two girls a couple of times. Neither of them were looking at the other, their poses somehow strangely echoed, hips sticking out slightly to one side and arms crossed.

"O-kay!" Rangiku snapped into action, wrapping an arm around each girl's shoulders. "Just an idea, girls, but since you two are best friends--"

"We're not," Ino grumbled.

"-- and since this has been going on a long, long time--"

"Not my fault," Sakura mumbled, pink tresses falling over her face.

"--don't you think maybe it's time to..." Rangiku paused, trying to think of the right word. "Let it go?"

"No!"

Her shoulders slumped. _At least they agree on something._

She thought for a moment, before straightening "Fine, fine. You girls are so stubborn," she replied airly. "I guess I just need to get involved too."

Ino snapped around to face Rangiku. "I'm not – wait, what?" The younger blonde faltered slightly. Sakura was looking at her now too, arms still crossed around her books. Rangiku shrugged innocently, running a hand through her hair.

"Well, I mean if Sasuke is so worth it, why should you two be the only one with a shot at him?"

"Eeh?" Sakura's jaw was hanging open and Ino had an expression close to total horror on her face.

"You said he likes long hair, right Ino?" She inspected the ends of hers, which fell only slightly beyond her shoulders. "I guess I need to start growing mine too. It'll be like my taichou and Shunsui growing their beards! But with a point!"

"Don't...don't you think Sasuke-kun is a little young for you, Matsumoto-san?" Sakura's question was cautious and stilted, and normally Rangiku would have laughed. As it was, Rangiku let her eyebrows inch closer to her hairline as she leaned over the pink-haired girl.

"Are you calling me _old_, Haruno?" Her expression swung from incredulous to wounded with a heavy sigh.

"What?" Sakura's eyes went wide with shock. "N-no!"

Immediately, she smiled. "Good! Then it's settled." If a love-heart could have appeared next to Rangiku's words, it would have. She watched in amusement as Ino and Sakura threw awkward looks at one another. There was a long moment of Ran trying to keep from laughing and the two younger shinigami looking totally shell-shocked.

"Hey, Ino-chan!"

Rangiku looked in the direction of the voice and spotted Shikamaru and Chouji ambling lazily towards them. Shikamaru was slouching, hands stuffed in his pockets, while Chouji contentedly munched on a packet of chips.

"Boys! How _are_ you?" She waved as they approached, smiling gratefully at Chouji when he silently held out the packet of chips to her. "Thank you, Chouji-kun!" Rangiku reached into the bag and happily took some, munching away as she glanced around the gathering of Second and Fifth Division members. "So what's everyone up to today, hmm?"

"We need to train," Ino replied, slightly dazed and apparently still recovering from Rangiku's bombshell.

The older blonde pouted. "Aw, Ino-chan..."

"Tsk. Troublesome." Shikamaru sighed and stared into the sky, and Rangiku wrapped an arm around him.

He sighed again.

"Shikamaru is right, Ino-chan!" She pouted. "Don't train, spend time with me!" The pout morphed into a smile as she looked at Chouji. "Come on, Chouji..."

Chouji looked slightly uncomfortable. "But Soi Fon-taichou will be angry, Matsumoto-san."

"Oh, pfffft, Soi Fon-taichou--" Rangiku reconsidered her words. "Well, yes, Soi Fon-taichou can be scary, but still." She glanced around at the group. "There's chocolate in my barracks?"

"We really need to train," Chouji replied apologetically. Rangiku had the feeling that the chips in his hand made it a lot easier to refuse.

Rangiku smiled at him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ah well. Another time, mm? I'll save some for you."

"That would be nice, Matsumoto-san," Chouji replied quietly. Crumpling the chip packet in his hand, he leaned easily over to throw it in a garbage can. He nodded politely to her and Sakura before nudging Ino's shoulder. "Come on, Ino-chan, Asuma-sensei is waiting."

The blonde nodded. "All right, all right." She flashed a grin at Rangiku and stepped past Sakura, ignoring the pink-haired girl. When Shikamaru made no indication that he was going to move, she slapped him upside the head. "Oi! Shika! Let's go."

Shikamaru flinched slightly and sighed. "Fine."

She grabbed his collar and tugged him along behind her as she threw a wave to Rangiku. "I'll see you later, Rangiku-san!"

Rangiku waved back, watching with amusement at the trio disappeared around the corner. She turned back to Sakura, brow furrowing slightly at the sight of the girl standing uncomfortably, still clutching her books to her chest. "What about you, Sakura-chan? Want some chocolate?"

Sakura looked up at her, surprised. "I should really--" she began, before glancing back in the direction Ino had walked and apparently changing her mind. "That would be nice, Matsumoto-san. Thank you."

Rangiku grinned. "Great! Let's go!" She carefully took a couple of the books Sakura was carrying and started to lead her towards the Tenth Division barracks.

"My my, this looks like heavy reading, Sakura-chan." Rangiku flipped through the pages as they walked. "I hope you have some more exciting plans for your birthday tomorrow."

Sakura almost tripped from her surprise. "How do you know--"

"Oh, Ino mentioned it," Ran replied easily, and kept walking so that Sakura had to run a few paces to catch up. "You like milk chocolate, right?"

xXx

Konohamaru's jaw jutted out as he looked up at Asuma and Kurenai, an unconvinced expression on his face. "Who's the lady?"

Miyako knelt next to Konohamaru. "This is Kurenai, Konohamaru. And that's my brother, Asuma."

"I know _that_," the young boy said matter-of-factly. He pointed at Kurenai, and spoke directly to Asuma. "She your wife?"

Asuma froze for half a second, before scratching his beard awkwardly. "Uh... no."

Konohamaru frowned. "Your girlfriend, then?"

Biting her lip, Miyako tried not to smile too widely. "Konohamaru..."

"Nah, nah Miyako," the young boy protested. "She told him not to smoke around the kid and he _listened._ That's like what a wife does, right?" He looked at her in earnest before turned a pleased smile to Asuma and Kurenai. "Right?"

"Hah, what?" Kaien ambled in from the doorway with a glass of water. "Whatcha talkin' about, Konohamaru?" Miyako stood when he arrived next to her, and he slung an arm around her shoulders. "Kurenai and Asuma are just mates. Right, Asuma?"

There was a long silence. Kurenai glanced up from where she was very intently examining her nails, meeting Kaien's eyes for brief second before quickly looking back down. Asuma just cleared his throat.

Watching them keenly, Kaien's grin slipped from his face. "But, but...Asuma! You're with _Kurenai_?" He looked at Miyako, seeking confirmation. She nodded. His mind very visibly boggled. "Since when? How come no one_ told_ me?"

Miyako bit her lip again and patted Kaien's stomach. "Possibly because you're yelling."

Eyes wide, Kaien glanced around at the others, mouth open but no words coming out. Finally he focused on Asuma. "But I thought you liked Kukaku! You went on dates with her!"

Sighing, Miyako gently elbowed him in the ribs. "One date, Kaien," she reminded him. "One date, with _us._ Because you _made them._" He continued to gape wordlessly, and Miyako slid her hand along his chin, turning his head to face her. "Kaien," she began slowly. "Why did you think we're introducing them to Konohamaru _together_?" Her lips curled in a smile that widened as his brow furrowed.

"I don't know," he finally replied. "So we could spend more time with him while they chat?"

Miyako batted at him gently as he looked down at her.

Konohamaru turned to Kurenai and tugged at her sleeve. "Oi, nee-san."

Surprised, she glanced down at him and smiled gently, kneeling down so she was closer to his height. "What is it, Konohamaru?"

The young boy glanced over at Miyako and Kaien. "Kaien-nii is kinda silly, ain't he?"

"A little," she agreed with a nod. "He's a good man, though."

"I know _that_," he replied impatiently. Kurenai's eyebrows raised a little at his words, but he didn't seem to notice as he continued. "What about Smokey-nii?" He pointed at Asuma, who was standing to the side awkwardly as Kaien gesticulated wildly. Kurenai allowed herself another smile.

"He's not very silly. But he's a good man, too."

Konohamaru nodded his understanding and turned back to resume watching Kaien, who still looked completely taken aback. The young boy's smile turned into a grin, and another look of total confusion from Kaien sent him into a fit of giggles.

The sound caught Kaien's attention and a grin spread over his face, confusion about Asuma and Kurenai forgotten. "Oioioi!" He bounded over to Konohamaru. "Oi, stop that Konohamaru. Or I'll tickle ya!" The boy kept laughing, and Miyako grinned, leaning against the doorframe as Kaien started to tickle him.

Asuma quietly strolled over to Kurenai. His mouth quirked in a slight smile. "Cute, hmm?"

"Yes," Kurenai agreed. "They're a real family," she mused softly, watching as Miyako joined the fray in the tickle war.

xXx

Leaping over the log in his path, Kiba brandished his zanpakutou enthusiastically. They were in the real world as a part of a joint mission with Thirteenth Division to eradicate a nest of particularly nasty Hollows, and Kiba was re-enacting his latest battle while they acted as lookouts for the rest of the squad.

"And then--" he continued as he landed, turning to Shino as the other shinigami calmly made his way around the log, "--Akamaru followed up with a Double Fang attack!" Kiba jabbed his sword through the air to demonstrate and grinned. "Awesome, huh?"

"Hmm."

Grin still in place, Kiba bent down, ruffled the fur on Akamaru's head and with a roll of his shoulders, turned to keep walking. Shino followed, hands in hands pockets and silently observing as Kiba idly clipped the grass with broad, lazy swings of his zanpakutou.

"Oi, it's time to go back now, innit?" Kiba asked, scratching his neck. "Our time's up, and man am I ready to get some sleep." He blinked, a faint metallic scent filling his nose and quickly becoming stronger.

Next to him, Shino frowned, almost imperceptibly. "Kiba."

The other boy came to an abrupt stop, taking his kidou-familiar off his head. "I know." The Tenth Seat glanced around and Akamaru let out a low whine. "I can smell blood," he said stiffly. "So can Akamaru."

The Ninth seat nodded. "I see." He drew his own zanpakutou, a green-wrapped katana. "Gorogare, Henatsuki." _Roll, Beetle_. Scarab beetles poured from the hilt, covering nearly Shino's entire body. Kiba tried hard not to make a face as Shino let them know what they were looking for, but it was tough going. He _hated_ creepy crawlies.

The writhing mass of beetles swarmed off of his friend to spread out through the forest. Anything they found out would be reported straight back to Shino. Personally, Kiba thought the guy should have gone to Second, but he was glad to have such a smart person at his back, regardless. Even if it did make for some tense waiting.

A choked gasp came from the boy next to him, and Kiba brought his zanpakutou up instantly, eyes darting around the area. "What? Oi, what is it?"

"Dead," Shino murmured. "They're all...dead."

He just barely managed to keep a grip on his sword. "_What?_"

Shino's hands were white-knuckled on the hilt of his katana. "The entire squad. Obliterated. Even the—"

"Even the _what?_"

"Even the squad leader. Except—" Shino broke into a run. It was the most uncharacteristic thing he'd ever seen his friend do, but Kiba was hardly in the right frame of mind to notice that.

"Oi! Shino! What're you doing?" He ran after him. "You don't know what's out there!"

A hand slapped over his mouth, and Kiba resisted the urge to bite it as Shino motioned for him to be silent. "Two heartbeats," the other boy said softly. "They're faint, but the beetles can sense them." Hesitation. "It's Yuhi-san and Hinata-chan."

Kiba ripped the hand away from his mouth. "Hinata? From the Academy?"

He received a terse nod in reply.

"Shit. _Shit. _And the Hollows?"

A pause.

"There's one. The beetles aren't sure where, though."

Kiba stared for a moment, jaw clenched. In his arm, Akamaru growled. "Damn it," he bit out. "Come on, let's go."

xXx

It was the early hours of the morning, and Miyako was dead.

Vaguely, Kaien was aware of his Captain to his left and Rukia to the right, but that didn't matter.

It was the early hours of the morning, and Miyako was dead.

There she was, laid out in front of him. There was a blanket laid over the wound that killed her. If it weren't for the blood on her face, she could have been asleep. Funnily enough, the wound was in the same spot as the last one that had nearly taken her life. But she'd beaten that one. She'd lived.

It was the early hours of the morning.

And Miyako was dead.

"What happened?"

Kaien didn't want to hear it

"Nearly the entire squad was obliterated," Ukitake said quietly. "There were four survivors, all of them sentries."

Kaien didn't want to hear it.

"It appears the Hollow attacked from the south, as Inuzuka-san and Aburame-san, were unharmed. The two west sentries were attacked by a different Hollow, which they managed to defeat. Hinata and...Hinata and Kurenai."

Kaien didn't want to—

He jerked slightly, not looking away from Miyako. No, Miyako's corpse. "Kurenai?" he asked quietly. "She's alive?"

Somewhere on the right, Rukia had slumped against the wall in relief. She was friends with Hinata, he remembered dimly.

"She is," Ukitake replied. His voice was gentle. Kaien hated him. "Sarutobi-fukutaichou is with her now."

"Asuma," he echoed. His brother-in-law. Why was he with Kurenai and not Miyako? No, Miyako's corpse.

_Because Kurenai's alive. He's in love with her, remember? And Kurenai's alive._

Without a further word, Kaien turned on his heel and headed for the door.

"Kaien, no!" Ukitake's voice rang out like a whip crack. "We don't know anything about its capabilities! We don't know its name, appearance, or what it can do. It could very well be suicide, going after it now."

Kaien paused at the door. "So you want me to sit here like an idiot and _wait? _Leave everything to an assault squad and just _hide_ in here?"

A long silence. Miyako was dead.

"We know two things about this Hollow," Ukitake said finally. "First, it doesn't move around. It stays in one area, and hunts from its lair."

"And second?" Kaien demanded, voice raw.

"We know where the lair is."

"Right." He made to leave once more, but was stopped by a small hand tagging his.

"Kaien-dono." Rukia's voice was small, and a little broken. Miyako was dead. "What about Konohamaru-kun?"

Kaien blinked, and somewhere from the depths of his soul he managed to dredge up a mockery of a grin. "I'll kill the bastard Hollow and come back to him."

It was the early hours of the morning.

Miyako was dead.

xXx

_Yeah, we know. That's a horrible place to end it. We're sorry, please forgive us?_

_Anyway, much love to you all! I intend to crawl into bed now and collapse – thank god I slept in this morning, is all I can say._

_Actually no, there's this too._

_Thanks for reading! :D_


	7. Chapter 6

_Okay, so here is where I have to make several apologies and an explanation of sorts. First off, I am so, so, _so_ very sorry that this chapter is so late. The incredibly shortened version of events is that the story got passed over to me to write alone, and then real life decided to interfere to a ridiculous extent. Basically, I haven't written much of anything in the past five months or so. But now, finally –_finally­ – _things are starting to get back on track again. I am so excited to be back, you have absolutely no idea. I've missed this place!_

_There is another thing I have to apologise for, and that is the length of the chapters. Because I'm now writing _Ozymandias_ on my own, writing the 9-10,000 word chapters that __**bellzooks **__and I were churning out is no longer feasible. At least, not with getting written in any decent length of time. I have set myself a chapter word minimum of 4000 words as opposed to the 6500 or so that it was before, so the chapters should still be of a decent (and not insane O.o) length. I may, at some point, go back and split some of the longer chapters in half so things are more of a similar length._

_Anyway! Let's get this thing started again, hmm? I give you _Ozymandias_, Chapter 6! I do hope you enjoy ^_^_

xXx

When Kaien's boss and a few underlings came to see them in the middle of the night, Konohamaru figured something bad had happened. When Kaien disappeared without even saying goodbye, he was sure of it.

"Oi, o-jii-san!" he called from the doorway, trying to sound more awake than he actually was. "What's goin' on? Where's Kaien-nii goin'?"

The old man – Ukitake – paused. "What are you doing awake, Konohamaru-kun?"

He shrugged lopsidedly. "Felt you. Your power. Ya didn't answer my question."

Next to Ukitake, one of the underlings – was that Rukia? – bowed slightly. "Forgive me, Ukitake-taichou, but Kaien-dono is..."

"I know, Rukia." The boss nodded at the other girl and the one guy with him before looking over at Konohamaru again. "Konohamaru-kun, Kiyone and Sentarou will watch over you until I return. They are my fifth seats."

Briefly, Konohamaru wondered why that should matter to him. "I don't get it. Where's Kaien-nii goin'?" he repeated, frowning.

Ukitake hesitated. "There was an accident at the Division. Kaien insisted on dealing with it firsthand." A faint, sad smile that Konohamaru didn't understand. "He's a good man."

"Che." Konohamaru looked at the ground. "I know that."

"Ukitake-taichou--"

"Yes, Rukia." The old man cut her off, but even that was kindly. "I will see you in the morning, Konohamaru-kun. Sleep well."

And before Konohamaru could think to ask any more questions, both Rukia and the boss-man were gone.

A hand was laid lightly on his shoulder. "C'mon, Konohamaru-kun. Let's get you back to bed, hey?" The girl – Kiyone? - smiled down at him, but it was another one of those smiles he didn't understand

Konohamaru resented that.

"I'm not goin' back to sleep now!" he protested. "I gotta wait for Kaien-nii to come back!"

Kiyone exchanged a look with the guy that went way over Konohamaru's head. What the hell was going on?

"Oi, Kiyone, don't be such a woman!" the guy yelled suddenly. "Konohamaru here is nearly a grown man, he doesn't have to go to sleep if he doesn't want to!"

"He's _not_ he's still a – hey, who are you calling woman like it's an insult, huh Sentarou?"

"Going deaf in your old age, _woman_? I said--"

"I heard what you said!"

Konohamaru blinked as the two continued yelling at each other. It was sort of cold outside, so he left them there and made his way into the lounge, curling up on the couch to wait. Half an hour or so later, they realised he wasn't with them anymore and followed him in, looking slightly shame-faced.

"So you're really not going to go to sleep, huh?" Kiyone asked eventually.

"Not until Kaien-nii comes back. He does stupid things when Miyako isn't here, so I have to look after him." At least, that's what Miyako had said.

It went on. About every half hour or so one of the fifth seats would ask him if he wanted to go to bed, almost like they didn't expect Kaien to come back or something. And that was just stupid because Kaien had promised he wouldn't leave him on his own again, and if Kaien was the type of guy who broke his promises, who could you trust?

Growing up in the Rukongai had a tendency to make a person paranoid, however, and about two hours in Konohamaru was starting to get suspicious. Kiyone and Sentarou looked like tired and depressed people who were trying to put a brave face on. You got a lot of that in the Rukongai, although in Seventy-Eighth district it was mostly just tired and depressed.

Another half hour passed and Sentarou opened his mouth again. "Are you sure--"

"Goin' to the loo," Konohamaru cut him off, leaping to his feet. He couldn't take it anymore. He'd find out what was going on by himself.

He was still small enough to sneak out the bathroom window, thankfully. Dropping to the ground, he dusted off his hands and crept silently along the side of the house. He'd already scouted possible escape routes when he'd first moved in, just in case, so he knew how to get away properly.

Where he was getting away _to_, Konohamaru wasn't sure. Probably the Thirteenth Division grounds would be his best bet, seeing as that was where Kaien was meant to be. Nobody had taught him how to flash-step yet (_when you go to the Academy, Konohamaru-kun)_, so he walked. Well. He started off walking but somehow by the time he got there, he was flushed and panting from running.

_You'd think with an accident, there'd be more people running around_, Konohamaru thought as he wandered around the grounds, frowning. But the area was almost empty, except for a few shell-shocked shinigami in odd corners.

Konohamaru knew that look too.

"Oi." He made his way over to one girl who was sitting down, staring at her feet. He thought he might have known her, but that could have just been because she looked sort of like Moegi. "Oi. Where is everyone? Ukitake said there was an accident."

The girl looked up at him, and she didn't look anything like Moegi after all. Konohamaru shifted uncomfortably at that red-rimmed despair.

"Konohamaru-kun?" Kaien and Miyako had introduced him to pretty much everyone in their Division. One name was probably a hell of a lot easier to remember than however many he was meant to – he still had no idea who she was. "What...what are you doing here?" She looked sort of confused, almost like she didn't recognise him despite knowing his name.

"Where's Kaien-nii?" he demanded. If he hadn't been freaked out before, he was now. At least Miyako was in the real world, so he didn't have to worry about her. "Ukitake said he was comin' here, where's Kaien-nii?"

"He--" The girl hiccupped slightly. Was she even old enough to be a shinigami? "He went after the Hollow. Konohamaru--"

"_What_ Hollow? Why's everyone keepin' secrets from me? I'm not a kid, you know! I'm gonna be soutaichou!"

Konohamaru hated the way his voice sounded. Sort of high and panicked and not like a Captain Commander at all.

The girl looked stricken, like he'd hit her. He _wanted _to hit her, because he could see it in her eyes that she was still hiding something.

"Where's--" He cut himself off, having been about to ask after Asuma. Asuma would let him know what was going on, but he was in Second Division and this girl probably hadn't ever spoken to him before. "Where's Kurenai?" If Asuma wasn't with her, she'd know where to find him.

"She's in Fourth Division," the girl replied, looking relieved to be on the receiving end of a question she could actually answer. "But Konohamaru-kun--"

"Thanks, see ya, bye!" And Konohamaru turned and ran out of the compound so fast he may as well have been flash-stepping. Fourth was where all the medics were. What did Kurenai need medics for? And why was Kaien going after a Hollow in the middle of the night for no good reason when there was no accident?

Konohamaru ran faster.

Unlike Thirteenth, Fourth was busy. Konohamaru wasn't sure, but it looked way too busy for three o'clock in the morning. He didn't want to take his chances with someone spotting him and dragging him back home, so he peered in through a window, hoping that maybe somehow Kurenai would magic herself into the main area so he could question her.

People bustled back and forth from room to room, and Konohamaru wasn't sure how much time had passed when a sudden commotion broke him out of the halfway-sleeping state he'd fallen into. Disgusted with himself, he stuck his head of the ledge and looked in through the window again.

It was Ukitake, and Kaien wasn't with him. A horrible suspicion was starting to dawn on him, but he shook his head. Kaien had _promised_ he'd always come back, right? And Kaien wasn't the kind of guy to break his promises.

But that girl was with him. Not the one he'd questioned back at Thirteenth, but the one who had left with Ukitake. Naruto's friend. Rukia. He kept on forgetting her name, even though she'd been the one to introduce him to Kaien.

Konohamaru shivered inadvertently at the dead look in her eyes. Even through the window, he could recognise that sort of expression as well. You saw it most often in the outer districts, on the faces of people who'd lost everything and didn't have it in them to try to find it again.

Screw it. He was going in. They'd have to tie him up and knock him out to get him away at this point.

...Then again, they were shinigami. They probably _would_. Konohamaru hunted around until he found an appropriate window (an open one with no people around) to climb in through, and did so. Pushing open the door to the room he'd found himself in, he scurried through the corridors back in the general direction he'd come from, trying to ignore the too-loud sound of his heart pumping in his ears. Rounding a corner, he skidded into a one-eighty, doubling back on himself when he saw Ukitake and Rukia coming his way with a lady he didn't recognise.

The lady looked sad. Ukitake looked exhausted. Rukia looked dead.

"Kuchiki-san, I really would prefer if you took the time to rest before you try to talk to Yuhi-san and Sarutobi-fukutaichou," the lady was saying, voice as gentle as her face. "Telling the Shiba family is enough for tonight."

_Telling the Shiba family what?_ Konohamaru almost screamed.

Numbly Rukia shook her head, but didn't say anything. Ukitake laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I think this is something she needs to do now, Retsu," he said heavily, coughing into his hand a little.

The lady looked disapproving. "You should be resting also, Jyuushirou." She held up hand before he could speak. "But very well. I understand. Yuhi-san and Sarutobi-san are through here."

The group walked a little further down the corridor, and Konohamaru held his breath, hoping they weren't about to turn the corner.

His luck held, and the lady tapped on the second-to-last door in the hall, murmuring something. It slid open after a moment, and Konohamaru caught a glimpse of a drawn-looking Asuma before all three shinigami entered the room, the door sliding shut after them.

Konohamaru waited a beat before creeping back around the corner. Through the crack in the door, he could only see Rukia, a dark smudge against the white glow of the hospital room. She was dripping wet with rain and something else.

Blood, which Konohamaru recognised way too easily from his time in Seventy-Eighth. A puddle was forming on the ground.

"I killed him," she croaked dully. "I killed Kaien."

xXx

The funny thing was, Kakashi had been at one of the graves when the Hell Butterfly brought him the news.

"Kaien and Miyako, huh?" he asked quietly, staring mindlessly at the grave marker.

"Ukitake-taichou and Kuchiki Rukia accompanied Shiba-fukutaichou to the lair of the Hollow that killed his wife." Aizen sounded exhausted and regretful. No doubt he'd offered himself up to help with the paperwork that such an incident would create. Trust Kaien to be irritating even in death. "Shiba-fukutaichou insisted on battling the Hollow himself, but the Hollow overwhelmed and possessed him. It then proceeded to attack Kuchiki Rukia, who killed it. Unfortunately--"

"I understand, taichou," he interrupted flatly.

There was silence as Aizen processed that. Kakashi braced himself for the inevitable pitying sigh, and almost smiled when it came. There was a pattern to this, almost a schedule. A set order of events that held some familiarity, if not comfort, when someone Kakashi knew managed to get themselves killed. It wasn't all that different from when Kakashi managed to get someone killed. Less self-flagellation, perhaps. Perhaps.

He dwelt idly on how pathetic it was that his life had gotten to the point where he _could_ plot out moment by moment how such situations were meant to unfold, before turning back into his Captain, who was no doubt informing him that it wasn't his fault.

"...know, there was nothing you could have done."

Of course he knew that. This time, it wasn't his fault.

This time.

"I know, sir."

His mind wandered as Aizen continued to talk. Every now and then he'd make some sort of noise to let his captain know he was still pretending to listen.

A different day, a different death. Over a century past, but the experience had been carved into Kakashi's mind, and such things didn't fade fast.

_It was cold, Kakashi noted. That was probably because it was raining._

_The freshly turned earth stared up at him. His vice-captain, even Rin, they were both long gone from the grave. Less people to stare at him when he couldn't stare back._

"_I didn't even like you," he said finally._

"_Ouch. Little harsh, don't you think?"_

_Decades of ingrained instinct didn't just disappear because you were trying to mourn. Kakashi spun around, Shirokarasu already unsheathed. There was a shriek of steel as the zanpakutou was blocked by another, and Kakashi's gaze tightened slightly in recognition before he drew back for another strike._

_A sharp clang split the silence, follow by a wet thunk. Kakashi scowled, wringing his hand slightly against the sting as he flash-stepped to pick Shirokarasu up from where the weapon had been knocked out of his hand._

"_Whoa." Shiba blinked, looking far more confused than Kakashi's dull acceptance as he lowered Nejibana. "What the hell was that?" The rain beat down harder._

_Kakashi gave him a flat stare, much reduced with one eye covered up. Even the sky was spitting on him. "One of my teammates was just killed because of rogue shinigami, and you're asking why I'm on edge?"_

_Shiba had the good grace to look ashamed of himself. "Eheh, yeah, I figured you'd be having some trouble like that, but you're the type of guy who'd have attacked me anyway. Nah, that wasn't what I meant."_

_Kakashi bit back the 'I wouldn't waste my energy' on the tip of his tongue and instead raised his one visible eyebrow._

"_I disarmed you! I've _never_ disarmed you before." Shiba looked genuinely concerned. Kakashi couldn't think why – the nobleman was Obito's friend, not his. Vaguely, he wondered if he should leave the other shinigami to mourn his friend, but a faintly mulish twinge of defensiveness kept his feet anchored in place._

"_You never know how much you'll miss something like depth perception until it's gone," Kakashi said finally. This time it was his turn to be surprised. Since when did he ever offer to explain anything unnecessarily?_

_A pause. "Y'know, Hatake, I always thought you were kind of an ass, but not this much. Obito gives you his eye, and you what, cover it up?"_

"_I didn't ask for it," Kakashi snapped immediately, because he'd been waiting _days_ at that point for someone to blame him and all he'd gotten was shaky eye contact and a few 'It's not your fault's. Kaien looked distinctly unimpressed, and for some unknown reason, Kakashi felt the need to clarify. "I'm not an Uchiha. I can't turn it off, and it drains my reiatsu. Namikaze-fukutaichou suggested I cover it up."_

"_...huh." Shiba gave him a speculative look, and then abruptly looked a little shame-faced. "It's just, he was my friend and all, and you're still kind of an ass."_

"_...Thanks."_

"_No problem." Shiba turned his face to the sky, squinting against the abating rain. "You were his idol, you know. He was so pissed off when you turned out to have such a stick up your ass. I tried to warn him, but would he listen to me? _No._"_

"_You're not making me feel better."_

_Shiba glanced at him and grinned. "I wasn't trying to." He flopped to the ground, squelching slightly. "C'mon, siddown."_

_Kakashi blinked. "It's...muddy."_

"_And? You've got one of the Uchiha eyeballs, not their freaking sensibilities." Shiba emphasized the point by rolling his own eyes. "Come on. Sit in the mud. It's therapeutic."_

_The second blink turned into a glare far less powerful with three-quarters of his face covered. "Fine." He dumped himself on the ground, careful to splash the idiot next to him even as he tried to keep Shirokarasu clean. _

_A pause that almost stretched out to become a silence. Shiba looked thoughtfully at Obito's grave. "You know, my dad never talks that much, but when he does, he usually makes sense."_

"_Unlike you, then."_

"_Eh?"_

"_What's your _point_, Shiba?" _And why do I need to be sitting in the mud to listen to it?

"_He says that every shinigami faces their one death."_

"_It's difficult to die twice. At least, in the span of one lifetime."_

_It was Shiba's turn to glare. "Would you quit trying to be witty when I'm trying to say something cool?"_

_Kakashi cleared his throat. "...Sorry. Continue."_

"_Right." Shiba turned to the grave again. "I see what you meant about him being a bastard," he told it. "I mean seriously, I knew, but I didn't think it was _this_ bad."_

_Kakashi choked on a sigh. "Didn't you have a story to tell?"_

"_Yeah, I did. So stop interrupting me." Shiba flopped backwards, hands behind his head and looking up at the stars. It had, Kakashi noticed, stopped raining, although that didn't stop the ground from being any less of a swamp. Shiba didn't appear to care overly so. "Dad says that every shinigami faces their one death. The death that decides their future as a shinigami. A friend, a family member, a subordinate, your worst enemy, that guy who sat behind you in class that one time. Maybe someone you've never met before. But they die, and suddenly you have to make a choice about what sort of shinigami you're going to be."_

_Silence settled comfortably around them, which was weird in itself. Yes, silence was Kakashi's preferred companion, but he'd never actively enjoyed it so much before. "Shiba?"_

"_Hmm, what?" The idiot was half asleep. In the mud. Definitely Obito's friend._

"_...Who was your death?"_

_Kaien turned to grin at him. "I'm the exception, of course."_

Kakashi broke himself out of the memory. "Trust you not to break your word for anything less than a suicide mission," he muttered, forgetting that Aizen was still talking.

Hesitation. "Kakashi-kun, are you going to be--"

Kakashi gave himself a mental slap upside the head à la Matsumoto Rangiku. "With all due respect, sir, it's Hatake-fukutaichou."

His Captain gave that heavy sigh which only served to make Kakashi feel guilty. "I take it you will be in the office tomorrow, fukutaichou?"

"Bright and early, sir." He shook his hand, not wanting to continue the conversation any further. The Hell Butterfly fluttered off.

_I'll be late_.

In the desert expanse of Kakashi's mind, Shirokarasu alighted on a withered tree branch, the giant crow solemn for once. On the cenotaph below, two new names stood stark, freshly etched.

"...I need to get drunk."

xXx

Matsumoto Rangiku was waiting.

Her small room in the Tenth Division Barracks was unnervingly silent, and the thought struck her that she was glad she didn't own a clock, because _fuck_, that would have been annoying.

Rangiku's lips quirked into a mockery of a smile, tapping her foot on the floor to measure time as a bottle of sake swung loosely from her left hand. She squidged herself a little further into the corner between the north and west wall, quite comfortable for all that she had been in that position since the news had come in hours before.

She was waiting.

Hugging her knees a little, she looked out the window and sighed. Stupid, how tragedy could be carved out into little instances like these, mapped out so it was the same every time and therefore easier to deal with. One would think that someone would have found a better way than mind-numbing routine to _deal with_ the soul-numbing grief after all these decades. Mind-numbing, because you didn't have to think. Soul-numbing, because eventually, you started getting used to it.

She was waiting.

The door slammed open as she fingered the necklace Miyako had given her. She didn't bother to turn her head, already knowing who it was. It was the routine, after all.

"You heard, then," she mouthed the ritual formula. She was drunk enough for it not to be a question.

No response. He wasn't as good at this as she was, which was strange, because he'd been at it for longer. A pause that fell flat of being meaningful, and then no sound but quick footsteps approaching before a rough hand grabbed hers and yanked her to her feet. She caught a brief flash of gray – not silver, that had never been a part of the routine – before Kakashi curled two fingers into his mask and ripped it down, slanting his lips over hers. The bottle of sake that had been dangling from the hand he didn't grab (and there were all sorts of metaphors swimming around there) dropped to the ground and rolled under the bed somewhere as she clenched her fists into his uniform before edging her fingers behind his neck to grasp harshly at his hair.

She pulled away to catch her breath and laughed, loud and unfettered and _sad_. This was not routine. This was a step further into feeling, wild and more than faintly desperate and not numbing at all. "What, no alcohol to help you—"

His lips stole another rough kiss from her, and if it hadn't just been a step in the path towards unfeeling, she wouldn't have complied quite so eagerly. Many things Matsumoto Rangiku was; easy was not one of them.

"Don't," he whispered, forehead resting against hers, hands tangling in her hair. "Just – don't."

The moment dragged on, twisting into something intimate and tender and a step out of the goddamn routine that Rangiku didn't even know why she was following. Eminently practical, she twisted neatly away from the thoughts of Miyako and Kaien battering at her brain, shoving aside pointed comments like _Should have_ and _Why didn't I_ in favour of tugging him down for another kiss. Less desperate and more purposeful. She pushed him backwards towards her small bed, fumbling with the workings of his uniform.

_Make me forget_.

He caught on quickly, at least, despite the brief step out of routine. Usually they got to this part a lot earlier. The scarf, as always, was the first to go. A present from someone who had no business being in that room with them. The rest of Rangiku's clothes followed along with Kakashi's, and in the sheer wake of sensation, she forgot to continue pulling their actions apart.

_Good, _her mind whispered as a numb haze of pleasure settled over it. She scored lines down Kakashi's back, arching as he moved on top of her, his face buried into her shoulder. _I don't want to remember._

It was good. It might have even been great, but Rangiku wasn't paying that much attention. He rolled over and stared at the wall when they were done, and she traced the scars on his back with her eyes. They were overlaid with reddish welts from her fingernails, the edges tinged white. Absently, she inspected her nails, wrinkling her nose at the flakes of skin under them. She'd broken one, she noted absently.

Kakashi continued staring at the wall. Rangiku sighed, and pretended she didn't know he was pretending to sleep.

There were no words, because words would start them both off thinking again. And right then, thinking was the last thing either of them wanted to be doing.

In the morning, he was gone. Rangiku pottered around her room, stripped the bed of its sheets and refused to cry for stupid men and their pride.

xXx

_All right! I so hope that was worth the wait. Or at least worth your time reading :P The skeleton of that last section I actually wrote months and months and _months_ ago during the planning stages of this fic. I was so looking forward to working it in properly, you wouldn't believe, and now I have!_

_Aaaaaanyway. Thank you all so much for reading! As always, I hope you enjoyed it._


	8. Chapter 7

_Okay, so I am full of hardcore fail, I months since the last chapter, so much for regular updates starting up again. My only excuse is that the last year of high school? A hell of a lot more difficult than you'd expect. The work isn't even that much harder, there's just so much more of it! X.x So, I'm really, terribly, horribly sorry for such a stupidly long wait._

_Anyway! The chapter is here now (I wrote about three thousand words of it in a day and a half X.x), and I hope you enjoy it! I can guarantee you that the next chapter will not be so long in coming._

xXx

"And you wonder why they call you a pervert, Ji-kun," Shunsui said easily, pink haori flaring dramatically as he sat down next to the Captain of the Seventh Division.

Jiraiya pulled the telescope away from his eye to glare at his friend. "It's research!" he protested. "Who're you to call anyone a pervert, anyway? How's your vice-captain? Still one hundred years old?"

Shunsui gave the other Captain a wounded look. "I would never," he protested. "Nanao-chan remains as cold and lovely as ever." A pause. "And she's two hundred."

Jiraiya snorted, not moving his gaze from whatever it was that he was looking at. "One hundred, two hundred, is there a difference when you're coming up on two thousand?"

From under his favourite hat, Shunsui peered at Jiraiya. The other man still wasn't looking at him, but Shunsui had known him long enough to see the seriousness in the lines of his back. "Ji-kun is so cool," he sighed. Sharp eyes noted the area Jiraiya had the telescope trained on. "Any movement?"

There was a pause, before Jiraiya lowered the instrument and gave a rueful chuckle. "Aren't you meant to be the lazy and unobservant one, Shunsui?" He shook his head. "It's silent as the grave. No one's moved around Thirteenth since Retsu let Jyuushirō go back."

"Ah, Jyuu-chan. Blaming himself for everything from letting Rukia go along to hiring Kaien in the first place, no doubt." He gave his friend a sidelong look. "I'd say this calls for some liquid intervention, wouldn't you?"

Jiraiya grinned in understanding. "I like the way you think, my lazy and unobservant friend."

xXx

"You had promised to keep her out of danger." Byakuya's voice was carefully neutral.

Jyuushirō swallowed a sigh. Pale and wan, he was in his sickbed once again as he met with his former student. Byakuya sat ramrod straight, kneeling at his side with his hands folded neatly at his lap.

"I did," he said, voice hoarse. He'd ruined his throat for the moment from coughing so hard, but that did not appear to be one of Byakuya's concerns. Jyuushiro didn't blame him. "I have failed in that, Byakuya. I—" He broke off, choking slightly as his strained throat protested. Calmly, coldly, Byakuya passed him a glass of water; Jyuushirō accepted it thankfully. "I know," he finished eventually.

"I am considering removing her from your Division."

Jyuushirō closed his eyes. He could hardly blame Byakuya. He had failed in his duties as Captain and mentor. Rukia would most likely do better in a Division without so many bitter memories, although he would certainly mourn her departure. And the Hyuuga girl, Hinata. The two had gotten fairly close over the years, enough so that both became bolder when in each other's presence. A separation would do neither of them any good. Nonetheless...

"She is under your protection, Byakuya. I can understand if you wish to move her somewhere else. Ninth Division, perhaps, or even First."

A pause.

"You misunderstand me, Ukitake-taichō," the other man said eventually. "I mean to remove her from the Gotei entirely."

Jyuushirō stared. Absently, he thought he should have seen it coming. "Byakuya—"

"Kuchiki-taichō." His face remained blank. He had never corrected Jyuushirō like that before.

Jyuushirō hesitated, then sighed heavily. "Very well. Kuchiki-taichō, Rukia has worked for a decade – more – to be recognised as a part of the Gotei Thirteen. Despite recent events I believe that this is not a dream she will be willing to give up. If you were to—"

"With all due respect, Ukitake-taichō, I am her brother." His tone was very clear on the fact that no respect was due at all.

_A brother who has given her no cause to believe that you even care for her, let alone want to love and protect her._ But Jyuushirō didn't say that aloud. Of course he didn't.

Instead, he calmly met Byakuya's eyes. Despite the heavy mantle of guilt settled over his shoulders like an old friend, Jyuushirō was not about to be spoken down to by a man over a thousand years younger than him when it came to someone he cared about.

"You are also a taichō of the Gotei Thirteen," the older Captain told him. "And as another taichō, I will tell you this. Rukia is already at a seated level. Maybe even fukutaichō one day. The Gotei cannot afford to lose her. In addition to this..." Another sigh. "It is already difficult for her, Byakuya. Do not take away her chance to prove herself." The '_to everyone' _was left unsaid.

Silence, as Byakuya regarded him impassively. His use of the noble's given name went uncorrected. Jyuushirō didn't hold his breath, but it was a near thing.

"I will decide when she is to be seated," the younger man said eventually. "You are to keep her on basic missions until then. I do not want her to be put in this...position, again."

Jyuushirō inclined his head, recognising the compromise for what it was. In another situation, he might have chastised Byakuya for attempting to order him about, but under the circumstances, it was probably deserved. Jyuushirō had proven himself, for the moment at least, to be unfit for giving orders of his own.

That, and this was quite possibly the most emotion Byakuya had shown in decades. Perhaps some small amount of good had come from this situation after all.

"Very well," he replied. "She will not thank either of us for it, but—"

And with that, the door burst open.

Byakuya's only reaction was a slow blink as Shunsui barrelled into the room, closely followed by Jiraiya. Two fine, upstanding Captains of the Gotei Thirteen, and they were apparently drunk out of their minds.

Shunsui echoed Byakuya's slow blink. "Bya-kun!" he cried, as if he hadn't just seen the other man at the Captain's meeting that morning. "What're _you _doing here?"

"I was just leaving," Byakuya said, elegantly shrugging a shoulder to remove Shunsui's arm. He stood in one smooth movement and met Jyuushirō's eyes. "I trust that you can at least keep _this_ promise, Ukitake-taichō?" the man asked flatly.

Jyuushirō nodded reluctantly. Rukia would not love him for this, but he would be lucky if she ever forgave him anyway.

Byakuya left without a further word.

Jyuushirō raised one tired eyebrow at his old friends. "Well?"

In the time between standing and settling down next to Jyuushirō's bed, both men dropped the act. Byakuya may not have been able to tell, but after nearly two thousand years of acquaintance, Jyuushirō knew when the other two were drunk, and now was definitely not such a time.

More was the pity. When they were sober (which was more often than the majority thought), both Shunsui and Jiraiya had a tendency towards wise, penetrating statements that got right to the heart of matters. Jyuushirō was not in the mood for wisdom.

Shunsui tilted his hat up, looking after Byakuya. "Ah, he's lucky Tsunade isn't here anymore. She would have punched him through at least two walls." He thought about that. "Maybe three."

Jyuushirō resisted glaring at Shunsui, knowing the other man would have simply brushed it off. "Were she here, Shunsui, she would have no doubt she would have been with Fourteenth and nowhere near my sickbed," he replied pointedly. Behind the Captain of the Eighth Division Jiraiya rolled his eyes, although whether it was at Jyuushirō, Shunsui or himself, he couldn't tell.

Shunsui shrugged noncommittally, and somehow still managed to look all-knowing and wise while he did so. "If you say so, Jyuu-chan," was all he offered in response. "Now, for the real reason we came." Jyuushirō tensed against the sympathy he was sure to come next, the sympathy that he certainly didn't deserve.

Jiraiya reached into his sleeve as Shunsui rummaged around in his ridiculous haori. "Sake!" the other white-haired man announced, finally succeeding in pulling out a bottle. How he'd managed to fit it up his sleeve, Jyuushirō was sure he didn't know. Shunsui pulled his own bottle from within the folds of his gaudy cloak and set it down with a definite thump on the small table next to Jyuushirō's sickbed, quickly followed by several sake dishes.

"You're incorrigible," Jyuushirō sighed, directing his disapproving gaze first at Shunsui, then at Jiraiya when the other man snorted. "I won't forget," he promised, welcoming the sudden wave of guilt that pushed past the barriers Jiraiya and Shunsui's presence were weaving. Someone had to remember, and he deserved to be that person. Rukia certainly didn't.

The eyes of both men were painfully understanding. It hurt from Shunsui, but from Jiraiya, it _burned_.

"As if we'd ever ask you to, Jyuushirō," Shunsui replied softly, sadly, as Jiraiya poured the sake.

The other Captain held out the first dish to Jyuushirō, a wry smile twisting his lips. There was no pleasure in that expression, just a simple acceptance that he'd always gotten from Jiraiya. "To Kaien and Miyako."

Jyuushirō hesitated, before reaching out and taking the sake. "To Kaien and Miyako," he replied heavily.

xXx

"You should get some rest."

Kurenai's voice cracked and tore as she spoke for the first time in hours. It hurt, a little, but it wasn't as bad as the pain of the rest of her body, so she bore with it easily enough. Asuma's hand tightened around hers slightly, possibly the only part of her that _didn't_ hurt at that moment, but he didn't give any other sign that he'd heard her.

"Asuma. You can't stay awake forever." Kurenai blinks, and her eyes were wet with tears for what she didn't want to think about. "We're—" She couldn't say 'alive', because she didn't feel like she was at all. It was like some essential part of her had been ripped out so quickly that if she turned around too fast she could still feel its ghost. Her best friend, the woman who had been like a sister to her—

Gone.

She grit her teeth and dealt with the wave of horror pushing through numb shock. She might not be able to face it out loud yet, but that didn't mean she was going to run away from it in the sanctuary of her own mind.

Kaien was dead. Miyako was dead. And she had survived, and god, it _hurt_.

A hand squeezing hers brought her out of it and she blinked, looking over at Asuma who looked vaguely, ironically amused. "You were saying?"

"Don't be stupid," she muttered. "I'm serious, Asuma."

He was silent again, long enough that she sighed and stopped waiting for an answer and concentrated on other things that weren't the fact that her best friend was dead. Things like the fine tremble running through Asuma's hand to hers, and with a flash of insight that came with being sort of in love with the man, she realised.

Sleep meant forgetting. And forgetting meant having to find out about it all over again. He'd run away once, Kurenai knew, and had resolved never to do it again because the problems were still there when he came back, and he _had_ come back. Sarutobi Asuma wasn't made for running forever.

Facing something once was hard enough. Facing this – death of his best friend and his sister (they were _dead_, Kaien and Miyako) and then almost losing _her_ (because Kurenai was adult and mature enough to know that being important to someone didn't make you self-involved) – and then embracing the dreamless sleep of sheer exhaustion only to wake up and face everything all over again was not something her partner wanted to put himself up for. There were people who craved that forgetfulness, chased it, but not her Asuma.

"You're too stubborn for your own good, you know that?" she whispered, squeezing his hand again. It was a thread of connection keeping her grounded in reality when she so wanted to float away to a place where she hadn't lived while Kaien and Miyako had died.

He glanced sideways at her and blinked in surprise at whatever it was that he saw in her face. Then that wry smile twisted his lips, the one that almost every shinigami wore at some point because it was _death_, and what could you do about it? The hand clenched back almost convulsively. "Speak for yourself," he murmured.

It wasn't acceptance, because how could you accept that Kaien and Miyako were _dead_? But it was – an understanding, of sorts. And maybe for now, that was bearable.

xXx

Naruto didn't know _what_ the hell was going on.

He'd heard all sorts of stories – a squad was wiped out, one person, a whole Division. It was Hollows, it was shinigami, it was soul candy gone wrong. Students from the Academy were involved, seated members, Captains, it was authorised, it was murder, Tenth Division did it, Thirteenth did it, Ukitake did it, Rukia did it.

He hadn't even stopped to try and figure out what 'it' was because the next rumour stopped his blood cold. Ukitake died – yeah right, the guy was a Captain. Kaien died – as if, the dude had Konohamaru to look after.

Rukia died.

And Naruto didn't have an excuse for that one, because as hard as he thought the words _No way, she has us to stay for, me'n Renji_, he couldn't make his tongue form the words.

Captain Aizen was over at Thirteenth with Hinamori doing something that involved paper and work and nothing that Naruto could get his head around. Kakashi was who-the-hell-knew where, and the other two people who might have told him knew as much as he did. Sakura was sitting nearby, almost close enough to be considered sitting _next_ to him as she watched Sasuke. Sasuke, bastard, who was doing what he always did – training, training, training.

Not that there was anything wrong with training. In fact, it was pretty much one of the best things ever, and if it had been any other day, Naruto would have been right out on the training grounds with him. But he had important things to think about, things more important than training, maybe even more important than becoming Captain-Commander, because this was _Rukia_, damnit.

He thought maybe that he felt Sakura's gaze on him, but that couldn't be right, because she was watching Sasuke train, and Sakura could get pretty single-minded when she was watching Sasuke train. Which kinda sucked, because she never got like that with Naruto, but that was neither here nor there when he was becoming more and more certain that _something_ had happened to Rukia, and he needed to find out what.

"Oi, dobe." Next thing he knew, there was a zanpakutou levelled at him and he'd been kicked in the shin. "Get up and spar."

"_Teme!_" Naruto growled, glaring up at Sasuke and rubbing his shin. Maybe he needed to find another word for when his rival was an ass, but that one worked so _well_, so why bother?

"Moron," was Sasuke's idle reply, and for once Naruto didn't leap up screaming bloody murder. This earned him a twitch of the eyebrow that might have been a frown in anyone else, but Sasuke was too much of a dumbass to actually use his face like normal people.

"Naruto..." Surprisingly, that was Sakura talking. The blonde Eighth Seat twisted head around and blinked at her. There was something in her expression that maybe looked like concern, something that Naruto had gotten pretty good at recognising after spending so much time with Iruka and Captain Aizen. And all of a sudden several things drew together in his head, the foremost being _Rukia_ and the second being determination, and this time he did leap to his feet.

"I gotta go," he told them, and the words came out in a rush like _She wouldn't leave us_ wouldn't.

"Eh? Naruto!" _There_ was the Sakura he knew, and he flashed her a grin in response even as he flash-stepped the hell outta there.

The plan was to find Rukia, and then find out what the hell had happened. She still had that weird thing about not talking to him, but he'd just find Renji and demand answers through him, because Renji was good like that when he wasn't demanding answers of his own.

Except, maybe Naruto should have planned a little beyond 'find Rukia', because he couldn't. Find her, that was. Thirteenth was the first stop, obviously, but everyone there was wandering around in some kind of shell-shocked horror. After trying his best to cheer a couple of them up, Naruto tossed a worried look over his shoulder and proceeded to search the rest of the Seireitei, to no avail. He even tried Fourth Division, where Captain Unohana sort of liked him (he thought. Maybe), and while he found out that Kiba and Shino were keeping Hinata company and Konohamaru was packed away in a private room with Asuma and Kurenai, she wouldn't tell him anything about Rukia.

Confused as hell and more worried than the Number One Hyperactive Shinigami wanted to admit Naruto switched targets and tried to hunt down Renji. But it must have been his turn again for the universe to throw blocks up against everything he wanted to do, because it turned out that Renji had been sent to the real world as a part of Eleventh's replacement squad for the squad from Thirteenth that had been decimated. He'd found that much out, at least. Usually Naruto would have just smiled and kept on going, but this was _important_, damnit. He still kept on going, of course, but the smile tugging at his lips dragged down a little at the corners.

In the end, he found out the full story from the official version a week after. Enquiries having been conducted, paperwork filed and Kakashi found and dragged back to work looking like a wreck and pretending not to, Captain Aizen assembled the officers first and briefed them all on the situation while his vice-captain read his stupid porny book next to him.

A whole squad wiped out. Shiba Kaien and his wife dead. He killed her and Rukia killed him, and there was a mind-sucking Hollow involved in there somewhere that made everything no one's fault but _whatever_.

Naruto was _angry_.

He'd been angry before, of course. He was frequently pissed off at Kakashi or Sasuke or Renji, but those were high flashes of irritation that really meant nothing in the long term (or even the short term, if he was honest, which he usually was). And there was that one time that he didn't really like to think about where he thought Sasuke was dead and – and yeah, he _really_ didn't like to think about that one time. But this anger wasn't like either of those, because he had no idea what he was angry about.

He sat down in his room by himself after the meeting, shutting the curtains and tossing himself face down on the bed to think about it as he absently tracked the warping shadows on his wall, trying to pinpoint the exact cause.

People were dead, and that was _stupid_. Naruto had grown up in the Rukongai, and you'd think he'd be more used to people dying because of that, but each death continued to hit him as hard as the one before it.

He was angry because of that. He was angry because Kaien and Miyako had died when they promised they'd look after Konohamaru. He was angry at himself because he knew that wasn't their fault, but he couldn't help but blame them anyway, he was angry at Ukitake for letting Kaien go, for taking Rukia with them, he was angry—

He was angry at _Rukia_, and that was the worst.

Naruto shifted, arranging himself in a better position so that he could punch the pillow, hard. He didn't _want_ to be angry at Rukia. She was his friend, and being angry – really, seriously angry – at your friends was not something that anyone should do, least of all the future Captain-Commander.

She had killed Kaien, which had been the right thing to do (as much as it sucked to admit that), but Naruto knew Rukia even after all these years of separation, and he knew that there was no way she'd be seeing it that way. No way, no how. And instead of find him, or Renji or even her freaking _Captain_, she'd disappeared off the face of the – well, out of Soul Society, locking herself away and not letting anyone help. And that was _stupid_, and it made him angry not only because of that stupidity, but because maybe she really didn't—

Naruto punched the pillow again, slamming that thought into standard-issue manchester and not letting it complete itself. _That_ was not the reason for his anger. Not at all.

No way, no how.

Okay, so this was a stupid way to be spending time. Naruto pushed himself off the bed, landing on his feet in one smooth move. Well – almost smooth. If he tripped on the duvet a little and nearly face-planted into the tatami, no one was there to see it.

He strode over to the window, ripped the curtains open and stared out at the crappy weather for a moment. Giving it one sharp nod and a loud 'hm!', Naruto turned on his heel and left to go on the hunt once more.

xXx

She was there.

Rukia wasn't sure how she'd _gotten _there. Couldn't remember where she'd been before there. Couldn't remember how she'd left where she'd been before there. Or when, or how long she'd been there. She just knew she was there.

She used to visit this place when she was younger. Back in the Academy, when being a shinigami was a good thing and didn't involve killing vice-captains. It was an important place, full of meaning and – importance.

"Did I kill you too?"

It wasn't a question. At least, she certainly didn't expect an answer. They were gone now, buried and _beyond_ gone. Some people imagined loved ones living new lives, down in the physical world and took comfort.

She found that thought unbearable.

xXx

Sasuke sat in his darkened room, staring down at Amaterasu. She was unsheathed, balancing across his knees and glinting dimly in what little light there was.

Logically, he knew it was a Hollow. There were eye witnesses, signature wounds, souls that had disappeared as a result of being eaten. But Sasuke had experienced firsthand the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan, and logic didn't mean a lot in the face of mind-eating fear.

His hand trembled on Amaterasu's hilt and he clenched his fist around it, hard, ignoring the zanpakutō's murmuring in the back of his mind. Here, in this dark room with nothing pink or bright yellow to interrupt, he could admit it.

He was fucking terrified.

xXx

It would have been nice if, after his resolve had formed once more, Naruto had been able to find Rukia and sit her down and talk to her and let her cry on his shoulder and have everything go back to how it used to be between them. But the formation of resolve apparently didn't always equal to the objective being achieved, or at least not immediately. Naruto knew he'd get there eventually if he just kept pushing, but that didn't make it any less annoying when things didn't happen right away. He didn't even manage to _find_ Rukia over the next month. He looked for her, trained with Sasuke and Sakura (even though Sasuke had been really weird and not even saying anything to _insult_ him. Which was really weird). Looked for her, went to visit Hinata because she'd always been nice to him. Looked for her, spent some time doing nothing with Konohamaru, who was staying with Asuma and Kurenai. Looked for her. Didn't find her.

He did find Renji, though. His friend came back from the real world at the end of that first month, and after having a yelling match with Sakura about the uses – and lack thereof – of kidō (she won, but she was yelling, and that was what Sakura did when she yelled), he told Naruto that he'd heard Rukia had been locked up in the Kuchiki Mansion since the disaster. No one knew if it was willing, but no one was dumb enough to speculate that it wasn't either.

"How d'you even know that?" Naruto asked, hands in his pockets as he scuffed his heel along the ground. "I've been asking around for _weeks_ now and no one told me anything!"

Renji coughed, and wouldn't look at him. Naruto got that not-look a lot, from heaps of people. He still hadn't figured out what it meant. "Iunno. Maybe I just asked different people or somethin'?"

Naruto considered that. "Yeah, that's probably it. But you reckon..." He looked around and lowered his voice. "You reckon he won't let her out? Kuchiki-taichō?"

Renji hissed, and thwapped him over the head. "Oi, don't go sayin' that shit just anywhere!" he whispered. "Honestly!"

"Owowow!" Naruto whined, rubbing his head. "Why's everyone always hitting me, huh? Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke-bastard, Sakura-chan, _you_."

"Because you say stupid things, dumbass," Renji retorted.

"Heyheyhey, you're the one who goes and say dumbass things to Rukia and makes her mad at you on purpose! I mean, I know she's angry at me, but it's not like I meant to do it!" Naruto looked smug with the conclusion he had reached. Which is why he didn't get why Renji's face fell and he looked away again.

"Che. She ain't angry at you, Naruto."

Naruto made a face. "I ain't stupid, Renji," he argued, falling back into his old accent a little. He still wasn't sure how he'd dropped it so fast where Renji had kept his. Maybe it had something to do with the Divisions they were in. "She hasn't talked to me in about ten years." He screwed up his face a little more. "Maybe nine."

Silence.

"Shit, Naruto." Renji's eyes were wide. "Ten years? Ya serious? It ain't been that long..." He trailed off, working it out himself. "...Shit."

Naruto scowled, scuffing his foot again. A small cloud of dirt kicked up. "Maybe nine," he offered. "I just wish she'd let me know what I did, ya know? Then I could make up for it or whatever." Not that that had stopped him from trying to make for it. His current mission was proof of that.

"Naruto, I'm serious." And weirdly enough, Renji's face really did look serious, even with the freaky tattoos he had going on now instead of eyebrows. "She's not angry at ya. And ya didn't do anythin' wrong. Whatever her issues are, it ain't got nothin' to do with you." He looked away, _again_, except the expression on his face was a little disgusted. _That_ was a look Naruto could recognise. "Ten years, bullshit," he muttered.

"Eh, we'll sort it out eventually!" Naruto said, grinning so hard his eyes closed as he scratched the back of his head. "After all, we made a promise, right?"

And the moment those words left his mouth, he knew where he could find Rukia. It hit him in a flash of insight so strong he nearly fell over (although that wasn't surprising). It didn't matter if she was locked up, or hiding or whatever, she'd show up there eventually, he just knew. He was an _idiot_ not to have thought of it before, really. "Igottago." He rushed out, not for the first time that month. But he was _sure_ that he was right this time.

"Huh? Oi, Naruto! Where the hell're you goin!?" Renji yelled.

"Seventy-Eighth!" Naruto called back, just before he slipped into a flash-step.

xXx

_I can definitely promise that the next chapter will not be so belated as this one, although I can't promise anything for the chapter after that XD Nonetheless, the Kaien-death arc should be wrapped up next chapter, and hopefully we can start moving forward again! \o/_

_Hope you all liked the chapter~!_


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